Zika virus: Policy implications and practical considerations (Brookings)

The ongoing issues related to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the Zika virus are still emerging, however the policy implications have certainly taken shape. The President’s recent budget includes an $1.8 billion request from Congress to respond to the Zika virus, which is a mosquito-borne illness discovered in Uganda in 1947 but has since spread across Asia and to the Americas. Recent outbreaks of Zika in pregnant women have been found to be linked to very serious health conditions such as microcephaly (a birth defect resulting in tiny heads) and Guillain-Barre Syndrome (an immune-mediated neurologic condition). The virus has been declared a pandemic which according to the World Health Organization refers to theworldwide spread of a disease. There is no vaccine and no treatment for Zika; only an antibody test to find out if you have it, which is far from perfect.

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/health360/posts/2016/02/16-zika-virus-policy-practical-considerations-patel

Zika and Reproductive Rights (Françoise Girard, Project-Syndicate)

Mosquitoes know no boundaries, and neither does fear. As public-health experts grapple with the Zika virus, panic continues to spread around the world. Yet the crisis has brought to light two important truths.

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/zika-impact-lack-of-reproductive-rights-by-francoise-girard-2016-02

Brazil struggles with Zika outbreak (Rasheed Abou-Alsamh, Arab News)

Brazil is reeling from an unprecedented outbreak of the Zika virus, which in the worst cases affects the fetuses of pregnant woman, causing malformation of the babies’ brains.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/880281

The Zika Virus (Danielle Renwick, CFR)

The Zika virus, a mosquito-borne illness, has been linked to a dramatic rise in birth defects in Brazil and was reported to be spreading across the Americas in early 2016, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. By February 2016, mosquitoes carrying the virus had been detected in more than two dozen countries, and the WHO projected that as many as four million people could be infected by the end of the year. Health officials say there are strong indications that the Zika virus is behind the twentyfold increase in cases of microcephaly, a condition in which infants are born with unusually small heads and brains that usually results in developmental disabilities. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said pregnant women, or women who may become pregnant, should consider postponing travel to the nearly thirty countries where the Zika virus has been transmitted. Some governments, including those of Colombia, Ecuador, and El Salvador have advised women against becoming pregnant in the near future.

http://www.cfr.org/public-health-threats-and-pandemics/zika-virus/p37527