The World Health Organization does not consider the Zika epidemic to be a global emergency. In the long run, however, the virus remains a major problem.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the end of the global health crisis due to the Zika epidemic. This was announced by the chairman of the WHO emergency committee, David Heymann. Zika remains “an extremely important problem in the long term”, but there is no longer a global emergency.
The WHO had called the emergency in February, after the Zika virus had spread especially in Latin America. The Zika virus carries the Asian Tigermücke as well as the Egyptian Tigermücke, which can also transmit dengue fever. It is also called yellow fever mosquito.
The Zika virus leads to flu-like symptoms in about 20 percent of the infected persons and is usually not fatal. Pregnant women can transfer the virus to their unborn children. Researchers believe that Zika can trigger microcephaly in embryos. Babies then come to the world with a much too small head, are therefore often mentally handicapped and suffer from neurological disorders.