Dive Brief:
- Today, the World Health Organization stated the Zika virus, which is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and has already spread to 22 countries, is "spreading explosively" in the Americas, according to The New York Times.
- While the virus symptoms are typically mild, Zika has been drawing global attention and raising panic after being recently connected to a surge of more than 4,000 cases of microcephaly in Brazil over the past few months, in which babies born to infected mothers have underdeveloped brains.
- In a prepared statement, WHO announced Director-General Margaret Chan would convene an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Monday.
Dive Insight:
Chan also stated, "WHO will...prioritize the development of vaccines and new tools to control mosquito populations, as well as improving diagnostic tests."
The CDC has issued a travel alert advising pregnant woment to postpone travel to regions where Zika is present, and four countries - Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica, and Colombia - have taken the unprecedented step of advising women to delay pregnancy.
While some cases of Zika have been identified in the U.S., they are believed to have been the result of travel to affected regions rather than a local outbreak.
One potentially major factor in the risk of a more global epidemic is Brazil is slated to host the summer Olympics. "The Olympics will be a perfect dissemination vehicle for Zika, as people from all over the world will converge in Brazil and then return to their home countries, which might also harbor Aedes mosquitoes," Amesh Adalja, a senior associate at the Center for Health Security at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, told USA Today.
U.S. health officials are urged to be on the lookout among patients returning from outbreak areas and pregnant women, with the CDC asking OB-GYNs to review fetal ultrasounds and test pregnant women who have traveled to at-risk areas. However, there are currently no commercially available diagnostic tests, so blood samples must be sent to the CDC.