Zika now in 34 countries; WHO mulls controversial methods to fight virus

UNITED NATIONS ( AP/ PNA/ Xinhua) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that with 34 countries now affected by the Zika virus mostly in the Americas and Caribbean, it may be necessary to use controversial methods like genetically modified mosquitoes to wipe out the insects that are spreading the virus across the Americas.

The virus has been linked to a spike in babies born with abnormally small heads, or microcephaly, in Brazil and French Polynesia.

Natela Menabde, WHO executive director, told UN member states during a briefing on the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) that Brazil has registered more than 4,700 suspected cases of microcephaly and a quarter were only studied for the moment. Before the outbreak of the virus, the average number of microcephaly every year was only 163 cases.

“The increase we see now is definitely a source of serious concern,” she said.

International experts, includ-

ing World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan, are visiting Brazil this week and next to check out a major increase in Zika virus infections.

WHO has launched a global strategy to guide the international response to the spread of the virus and the neonatal malformations and neurological conditions associated with it, she said.

The strategy, also known as the Strategic Response Framework and Joint Operations Plan, focuses on mobilizing and coordinating partners, experts and resources to help countries enhance surveillance of the Zika virus and disorders that could be linked to it, improve vector control, effectively communicate risks, guidance and protection measures, provide medical care to those affected and fast-track research and development of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.

She said that US$ 56 million are required to implement the strategy, of which $25 million would fund the joint response of WHO, the Regional Office foe the Americas (AMRO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and US$ 31 million would fund the work of key partners.

In the interim, WHO has tapped a recently established emergency contingency fund to finance its initial operations, she said.

As part of WHO’s new emergency program, the global health agency activated an Incident Management System to oversee the global response and leverage expertise from across the organization to address the crisis. WHO is tapping a recently established emergency contingency fund to finance its initial operations.

“The health threat associated with the Zika Virus disease in Latin America and the Caribbean is very real,” said ECOSOC president Oh Joon, adding that the rise of microcephaly cases and other neurological disorders in the affected regions is extremely worrying.

Genetically modified insects

WHO said its advisory group has recommended further field trials of genetically modified mosquitoes, which have previously been tested in small trials in countries including the Cayman Islands and Malaysia.

“Given the magnitude of the Zika crisis, WHO encourages affected countries ... to boost the use of both old and new approaches to mosquito control as the most immediate line of defense,” WHO said in a statement. WHO says at least 34 countries have been hit by the virus in the current crisis, mostly in Latin America.

WHO said previous experiments that released sterile insects have been used by other UN agencies to control agricultural pests. The agency described the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that spread Zika – as well as other diseases including dengue and yellow fever – as an “aggressive” mosquito that uses “sneak attacks” to bite people, noting that the mosquito has shown “a remarkable ability to adapt.”

Last month, British biotech firm Oxitec said tests in Brazil in 2015 showed that genetically altered sterile male mosquitoes succeeded in reducing a type of disease-spreading mosquito larvae by 82 percent in one neighborhood in the city of Piracicaba. The genetically modified males don’t spread disease because only female mosquitoes bite.

Last week, a group of doctors in Argentina, Physicians in the CropSprayed Towns, suggested the jump in microcephaly cases may not be caused by Zika, but by Pyriproxyfen, a larvicide used in drinking water that aims to prevent mosquito larvae from developing into adulthood. The group said the larvicide has been used since 2014 in Brazil in several areas with a reported rise in babies with birth defects.

Mexico reports 6 cases

Mexico’s Health Department says it has now confirmed six pregnant women have been infected in Mexico with the mosquito-borne Zika virus. Four of those cases were in the state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala.

The department said this week there were 80 confirmed cases of locally acquired Zika throughout Mexico as of Feb. 12.

Forty-five cases were in Chiapas and 25 in neighboring Oaxaca state. Four were in the northern border state of Nuevo Leon.

Blood donation guidelines

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday issued a new guidance recommending those who have traveled to areas with active transmission of Zika virus during the past four weeks should refrain from donating blood.

Individuals considered to be at risk also included those who have had symptoms suggestive of Zika virus infection during the past four weeks and those who have had sexual contact with a person who has traveled to, or resided in, Zika-affected areas during the prior three months.

The FDA said such individuals should wait at least four weeks before donating blood.

In areas with active Zika virus transmission, the FDA recommended that whole blood and blood components for transfusion be obtained from areas of the US without active transmission.