The World Health Organization has officially declared “a public health emergency of international concern” over the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus.
WHO is urging nations to keep greater watch on the threat and contain the hazard.
Brazil’s first case of a Zika virus infection was confirmed in May last year. The epidemic has spread to more than 20 nations and regions worldwide, mainly in Central and South America. Over 4 million people have been infected with the virus in the region.
For pregnant women who are infected with the virus, there is a greater possibility that their newborn babies would have microcephaly – a condition in which a baby is born with an abnormally small head and brain, resulting in retardation in cerebral development.
When the Ebola virus hit Guinea, no one imagined that it will ever get to Nigeria. Patrick Sawyer was the Ebola patient zero in Nigeria. If not for the courage of brave men and women like Late Dr Ameyo Adadevoh, Nigeria wouldn’t have been that lucky.
WHO has been widely criticised for its response to Ebola. It admitted that it had been slow to react to the outbreak after it appeared in 2014 and that it failed to understand the wider socio-economic factors which contributed to the pathogen’s spread.
Brazil is currently worrying about how the Zika Virus won’t an issue during the upcoming 2016 Olympics set to hold in Rio de Janeiro.
Athletes from all over the world will gather to compete during the major international multi-sport event, now that it has been confirmed that Zika can spread through sexual intercourse, more precautionary steps have to be taken.
It was announced that there would be daily inspections of venues to prevent puddles of stagnant water that allow mosquitoes to breed but for a sexually transmitted disease, this is not a viable solution.
WHO should stop issuing warnings and take serious action. Underdevelopment makes the world more vulnerable to pandemics.
Leave a Reply