What The Ebola Crisis Can Teach Us About Responding To The Zika Outbreak

Every week, The WorldPost asks an expert to shed light on a topic driving headlines around the world. Today, we speak with Georgetown University’s Daniel Lucey and Lawrence Gostin about the global response to the Zika virus. The World Health Organization was widely criticized for delays and mismanagement in its response to the Ebola crisis that ravaged three West African countries in 2014.  The Ebola virus has killed over 11,000 people, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, since 2013. Liberia and Guinea have recently been declared Ebola-free, although experts warn the virus can quickly re-emerge. Now, a new public health crisis is emerging in the Americas. The Zika virus, first discovered in Uganda’s Zika forest over 60 years ago, spread in recent years to the South Pacific and the Americas. The virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes and, like Ebola, has no vaccine or cure, was initially not thought to be very dangerous, mostly causing a mild rash or fever. But a large outbreak of the virus in Brazil last year was linked to an explosion in reported cases of microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads. The possible connection between the Zika virus and microcephaly, which has yet to be confirmed, led Brazil to declare a national emergency in November. The virus has spread rapidly, with reported cases in 23 countries and territories in the Americas. Earlier this month, the U.S....
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news