Zika No Longer Emergency, But Still Threatened

ZURICH - World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday (18/11) announced that Zika virus outbreak no longer poses a world public health emergency.

"The Zika virus remains a highly significant and long term problem, but it is not any more a public heath emergency of international concern," the world health body's emergency committee chairman, Dr. David Heymann said.

While Zika causes only mild symptoms in most people, pregnant women with the virus risk giving birth to babies with microcephaly, a deformation that leads to abnormally small brains and heads.

The agency was careful not to dismiss the risk still posed by the virus.

"We are not downgrading the importance of the Zika virus," said Dr. Peter Salama, director of the WHO's health emergencies program.

The agency believes Zika virus and associated consequences remain a significant enduring public health challenge requiring intense action, but 'no longer represent' a global health emergency, it said in a statement.

Because of the fact that it is seasonal, Zika could return, along with the mosquitoes carrying it, which would imply there is serious concern. While the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes will be tested every season by the scientists, it is important for people to look at this disease as more than just a local emergency that translated into a few cases.

The specialists underline the importance of being aware of the health danger that it poses, should we attempt to resist it. However, regardless of this classification, each country that has encountered the virus can still declare local emergency, according to Dr. David L. Heymann, chair of the advisory committee.

But while the WHO makes this reclassification for the sake of global awareness and avoiding danger, other experts are worried that these statements could result in slowing the international response to an epidemic that still spreads, as people will believe they are safe rather than understand the implications the virus could have.

While the warning concerning pregnant women traveling to areas where the virus was spotted remains in force, scientists fear the possible consequences of declaring Zika as not an emergency anymore. Consequently, a related concern of the public educated on the matter is that some children will be born with no symptoms of Zika, but will develop neurological issues further in life, because of the lax health measures that may follow these statements of the WHO.