Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Zika virus could be bigger global health threat than Ebola, say health experts
Saturday 30 January 2016 15.10 EST Last modified on Saturday 30 January 2016 15.12 EST
The Zika virus outbreak in Latin America could be a bigger threat to global health than the Ebola epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people in Africa.
That is the stark claim of several senior health experts ahead of an emergency meeting of the World Health Organisation on Monday which will decide whether the Zika threat ? which is linked to an alarming rise in cases of foetal deformation called microcephaly ? should be rated a global health crisis.
?In many ways the Zika outbreak is worse than the Ebola epidemic of 2014-15,? said Jeremy Farrar, head of the Wellcome Trust. ?Most virus carriers are symptomless. It is a silent infection in a group of highly vulnerable individuals ? pregnant women ? that is associated with a horrible outcome for their babies.?
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/30/zika-virus-health-fears
Saturday 30 January 2016 15.10 EST Last modified on Saturday 30 January 2016 15.12 EST
The Zika virus outbreak in Latin America could be a bigger threat to global health than the Ebola epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people in Africa.
That is the stark claim of several senior health experts ahead of an emergency meeting of the World Health Organisation on Monday which will decide whether the Zika threat ? which is linked to an alarming rise in cases of foetal deformation called microcephaly ? should be rated a global health crisis.
?In many ways the Zika outbreak is worse than the Ebola epidemic of 2014-15,? said Jeremy Farrar, head of the Wellcome Trust. ?Most virus carriers are symptomless. It is a silent infection in a group of highly vulnerable individuals ? pregnant women ? that is associated with a horrible outcome for their babies.?
...
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/30/zika-virus-health-fears