THE World Health Organization (WHO) has rung a global alarm over the Zika virus, saying that the disease was “spreading explosively” in the Americas and that as many as four million people could be infected by the end of the year. Terrifyingly this virus has already been linked to severe birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil as The New Nation report said on Thursday. The spread of Zika virus is very alarming for the health of world people.
This virus was first detected in 1947 and for decades only caused mild disease, but the situation now is dramatically different. There are fears that the virus — which has spread to 23 countries — is being passed to humans via the common mosquito. Zika has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains in Brazil. A causal relationship between Zika virus infection and birth malformations and neurological syndromes has not yet been established, but is strongly suspected.
In spite of this, some symptoms of infections include fever, joint pain, itching, rash, conjunctivitis or red eyes, headache, muscle pain and eye pain. Once infected, only about 20% of people with Zika ever show those symptoms as the report said. These symptoms might be marked out with other normal viruses; but doctors suggested taking this matter into serious account as Zika is spreading explosively in Americas and other parts of the world. Declaring a global emergency is akin to an international SOS signal and action to address an outbreak. Emergency committee of WHO till now does not guarantee that a global emergency will be declared. But the massive expansion of Zika has made the situation – there is no alternative for WHO to declare global emergency.
A report said that with about 500,000 people expected to visit Brazil for the Olympics this year, researchers are scrambling to figure how much of a risk the Games might pose in spreading the Zika virus around the world. Infectious disease specialists are particularly focused on the potential for Zika to spread to the United States. As many as 200,000 Americans are expected to travel to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics in August. When they return, far more mosquitoes will be around to potentially transmit the virus in the US, which would be disastrous for the US.
So, US should take immediate preemptive measures so that it couldn’t be further dispersed among the people. In this dreadful situation, women should avoid travel to areas where Zika is active. We cannot expect more babies being born with neurological and other malformations and more people facing the threat of paralysis as Zika virus has explosively been spread.
In Bangladesh too, the health authorities should keep a watchful eye on the global situation and as a precautionary measure, should enforce mandatory scanning of the people coming from the Americas at the airports. It is a serious public health issue.
