global health newsletter
10 May 2016
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global health
The mosquito that spreads Zika is now present in about 30 states and hundreds of thousands of infections could appear in Puerto Rico. The White House says that in the absence of the emergency funds it would redirect $589m, mostly from money already provided by Congress to tackle the Ebola virus, to prepare for Zika before it begins to emerge in the continental United States as the weather warms. Initial research into the microcephaly officially being caused by Zika shows it causing extremely severe brain damage. As Brazil prepares to host the Olympic games in August, the CDC has recommended that pregnant women avoid travelling to the country. They also warn of silent infections that do not display symptoms, and to therefore take extra care to not spread the virus unknowningly. The first Zika vaccine candidate appeared to be on target to enter initial clinical trials in September. In the mean time, a paper-based rapid test for the Zika virus was introduced this past Friday by a consortium of research groups. ♧♧♧
With just nine cases of the virus so far this year – in Pakistan and Afghanistan – the WHO is confident the battle against polio is nearly won. If the virus is wiped out, polio will become only the second human-hosted virus to be eradicated since the end of smallpox in 1980. The end of polio will be a “landmark for humankind” because it has created a public health model for vaccination even in the most difficult and challenging places. Pakistan and Afghanistan are now joining forces to wipe out polio. ♧♧
burundi
tidbit
Cheers,
Sonja