Geneva (AFP) – There is a “very low risk” of the Zika virus spreading further internationally as a result of the Olympic Games in Brazil, the World Health Organization’s emergency committee on the disease said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The statement came as worry mounted that the mosquito-borne virus, which has spread across much of Latin America and which can lead to severe birth defects in babies, might spread further when the Olympics begin in August.<\/p>\n
“The Committee concluded that there is a very low risk of further international spread of Zika virus as a result of the Olympic and Paralympic Games as Brazil will be hosting the Games during the Brazilian winter,” the WHO said.<\/p>\n
The global health agency explained that the intensity of the transmission of viruses like dengue and Zika “will be minimal”.<\/p>\n
Brazilian authorities are “intensifying vector-control measures in and around the venues for the Games which should further reduce the risk of transmission,” the WHO said.<\/p>\n
“There should be no general restrictions on travel and trade with countries, areas and\/or territories with Zika virus transmission.”<\/p>\n
The committee however said Brazil should make sure it boosts its control measures in cities where the Games will be held.<\/p>\n
In Brazil, some 1.5 million people have been infected with the virus, and nearly 1,300 babies have been born with microcephaly — abnormally small heads and brains — since the outbreak of Zika began there last year.<\/p>\n
The virus, which usually causes only mild, flu-like symptoms, can also trigger adult-onset neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which can cause paralysis and death.<\/p>\n
In an added complication, there is limited, but growing evidence that Zika can be transmitted sexually.<\/p>\n
There is no vaccine for Zika.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Geneva (AFP) – There is a “very low risk” of the Zika virus spreading further internationally as a result of the Olympic Games in Brazil, the World Health Organization’s emergency committee on the disease said Tuesday. The statement came as worry mounted that the mosquito-borne virus, which has spread across much of Latin America and Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83905\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}