Zika Is a Result of Failed Policies on Mosquito Control: WHO

Policy failures have allowed the virus to spread rapidly and now Zika is now a significant threat to global health.

A baby born with microcephaly – stunted growth of brain triggered by the Zika virus in Brazil. (Photo: AP)

The World Health Organisation said on Monday that the Zika crisis is not a recent problem, but a result of decades of policy failures on mosquito control and family planning services.

The spread of Zika... (is) the price being paid for a massive policy failure that dropped the ball on mosquito control in the 1970.

Margaret Chan, WHO Chief

Policy failures have allowed the virus to spread rapidly – so much so that Zika is now a significant threat to global health.

Experts are of the opinion that Zika is responsible for a surge in microcephaly cases (babies born with abnormally small heads and brains).

The virus also causes the rare but serious neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome and is mainly spread by two species of Aedes mosquito. It has also been shown to transmit through sexual contact.

Zika shows an extreme consequence of the failure to provide universal access to sexual and family planning services.

Margaret Chan

Chan pointed out that Latin America and the Caribbean, hit hard by the outbreak, “have the highest proportion of unintended pregnancies anywhere in the world.”

In Brazil, more than 1.5 million people have been infected with Zika, and nearly 1,400 cases of microcephaly have been registered since the outbreak began in 2015.

(With inputs from AFP)