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| A doctor draw blood from Luana, who was born with microcephaly, at the Oswaldo Cruz Hospital in Recife, Brazil, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016. Brazilian officials still say they believe there's a sharp increase in cases of microcephaly and strongly suspect the Zika virus, which first appeared in the country last year, is to blame. The concern is strong enough that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month warned pregnant women to reconsider visits to areas where Zika is present. |
GENEVA
(AP) -- The Zika virus is "spreading explosively" in the Americas,
which could see up to 4 million cases over the next year, international
health officials said Thursday, announcing a special meeting next week
to decide if they should declare an international health emergency.
The
warning from the World Health Organization came amid a call to arms by
officials on both sides of the Atlantic over the mosquito-borne virus,
which has been linked to a spike in a rare birth defect in Brazil.
Brazil's
president - noting there is no medical defense against the infection -
called for a crusade against the mosquitoes spreading it.
"As
long as we don't have a vaccine against Zika virus, the war must be
focused on exterminating the mosquito's breeding areas," said President
Dilma Rousseff.
The U.N. health agency called
the special session in part to convey its concern about an illness that
has sown fear among many would-be mothers. It may also have acted
quickly because the agency was criticized for its slow response to the
Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
Meanwhile, U.S.
health officials said Thursday while they have not yet seen spread of
the disease in the 50 states, the number of U.S. travelers infected over
the last year in the Caribbean or Latin America has climbed to 31.
The
Zika virus was first discovered in Africa in 1947. But until last year,
when it was found in Brazil, it had never been a threat in the Western
Hemisphere.
The virus causes no more than a
mild illness in most people. But there is mounting evidence from Brazil
suggesting infection in pregnant women is linked to abnormally small
heads in their babies - a birth defect called microcephaly.
Earlier
this month, U.S. health officials advised pregnant women to postpone
visits to Brazil and other countries in the region with outbreaks.
"For
the average American who's not traveling, this is not something they
need to worry about," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, of the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
But "for
people who are pregnant and considering travel to the affected areas,
please take this seriously," she added. "It's very important for you to
understand that we don't know as much as we want to know about this
yet."
In Geneva, WHO Director-General Dr.
Margaret Chan noted it had been less than a year since the virus arrived
in the Americas, "where it is now spreading explosively."
Although
there is no definitive proof that the Zika virus is behind the spike in
brain defects in Brazil, "the level of alarm is extremely high," she
added.
"The possible links, only recently
suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika from a mild
threat to one of alarming proportions," Chan said.
Researchers
are also looking into a potential tie between Zika infections and cases
of Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause temporary paralysis.
According
to the CDC, the Zika virus is now in more than 20 countries,
transmitted by the same mosquito that spreads other tropical illnesses
such as dengue and yellow fever.
Sylvain
Aldighieri, head of WHO's epidemic response team in the Americas,
estimated there could be 3 million to 4 million Zika infections in the
region over the next year. He said the agency expects "huge numbers" of
infections because of the widespread presence of the Aedes mosquitoes
that spread Zika and because people in the region have no natural
immunity.
The same mosquito species spreading
Zika in Latin America is also found in the southern United States.
However, U.S. health officials reiterated Thursday they don't think the
United States is vulnerable to a widespread outbreak of the Zika virus.
WHO
warned China and all other countries that have dengue fever to be on
the lookout for Zika infections. The agency said it could be many years
before a vaccine is available and it might take six to nine months
before there's any data showing a causal relationship between Zika and
the babies born with malformed heads.
Monday's
special session does not guarantee that a global emergency will be
declared - WHO has held 10 such meetings to assess the Middle Eastern
respiratory syndrome coronavirus and no emergency has been announced.
Declaring
a global emergency is akin to an international SOS signal and usually
brings more money and action to address an outbreak. The last such
emergency was announced for the devastating 2014 Ebola outbreak in West
Africa, which eventually ending up killing over 11,000 people. Polio was
declared a similar emergency the year before.
Marcos
Espinal, WHO's director of infectious diseases in the Americas region,
said Brazil is conducting studies to determine if there is scientific
evidence that Zika virus causes birth defects and neurological problems.
More than 4,000 suspected cases have been reported in Brazil since
October. However, tests so far have shown hundreds of them were not
microcephaly.
Brazilian authorities estimate
the country could have up to 1 million Zika infections by now. Most
infected people don't get sick and those who do mostly suffer mild
symptoms such as fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes.
The
outbreak has mostly been in the poor and underdeveloped northeast, but
the prosperous southeast, where Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are
located, is the nation's second hardest-hit region. Rio de Janeiro is of
special concern, since it will host the Aug. 5-21 Summer Olympic games
that are expected to be attended by millions from around the world.
International
Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said the fact the Olympics will
be held in August - during Brazil's winter - could limit Zika's impact
on the games. Cooler weather tends to cut down mosquito populations.
Earlier
this week, officials in Rio ramped up their fight against the
mosquitoes that spread Zika, dispatching fumigators to the Sambadrome,
where the city's Carnival parades will take place next month.
There
is no treatment or vaccine for Zika, which is in the same family of
viruses as dengue. Scientists have struggled for years to develop a
dengue vaccine; the first such shot made by Sanofi Pasteur was licensed
last year in Brazil.
