The World Health Organization (WHO) had already declared an end to the Zika virus epidemic last Friday. However, the WHO warns that the mosquito-borne virus still causes a continuing threat and this does not end the fight to find the cure for the said virus.
According to the United Nations (UN), despite lifting the nine-month old declaration of the Zika virus, it still remains a significant and enduring public health challenge. The Zika virus, which was first detected in Brazil February last year, has been connected to birth defects and neurological problems in nearly 60 countries.
These include microcephaly, where babies are born with abnormally small heads that restricts proper brain development and Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a neurological disorder. In addition, there have been 2,300 confirmed cases of microcephaly caused by the Zika virus infection.
Dr. David Heymann, chair of the Zika Emergency Committee, told a news conference that the Committee agreed that Zika must now be managed within the World Health Organization as are other very important infectious diseases. Zika will be put in a class together with other diseases like dengue. The organization will create a technical committee to deal with Zika research, vaccine development and other efforts going forward.
Together with the decision made by WHO are the concerns of some experts in connection to it. "I think WHO's decision is unwise. Although Zika's spread has waned, it still holds the potential for an explosive epidemic. If it were to re-emerge in the Americas or jump to another part of the world, it would significantly threaten a new generation of children born with disabilities such as microcephaly." as stated by Lawrence Gostin, a global health law expert from Georgetown University.
On the other hand, Dr. Peter Salama, executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, clarified that WHO is not downgrading the importance of Zika. Instead, it needs a long-term program and that the organization will stand strong in finding a cure for the said virus.
