Zika remains global emergency, virus still spreading, says WHO!!

Singapore reports 38 new cases of Zika virus

The WHO emergency committee said there were no reports of Zika symptoms in people returning from the Rio Olympics, in line with predictions that the Games would not lead to a significant increase in

transmission.Dr. David Heymann, the committee's chair, said Friday that considerable gaps remain in understanding Zika and the complications linked to the mosquito-borne disease — including brain-damaged babies — and WHO concluded that the outbreak remains a global emergency.

Dr. David Heymann, chair of the WHO emergency committee, said that in the absence of any effective treatments or vaccines for the disease - and given past failures to wipe out the mosquitoes that mostly spread Zika - it will largely be up to individuals to avoid infection through the use of insect repellent and wearing long sleeves and trousers. (CBC)

WHO noted that Brazil has not reported any confirmed cases of Zika following the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, although studies are ongoing in the country to figure out why certain regions have seen an increase in babies being born with abnormally small heads.
To date, Zika has infected people in 72 countries and territories since 2007, with 69 reporting cases since 2015.
On Friday, Singapore reported 38 new cases of locally transmitted Zika infection.
Authorities in Singapore, a regional financial centre and transit hub, said they had detected 189 people with the Zika virus in total, including two pregnant woman.
The first locally transmitted Zika infection was

Some countries praised for Zika responses

Singapore has been a "model country" in its response, involving significant lab work, public health measures and vector [mosquito] control, said Dr. Peter Salama, executive director of the World Health Organization's health emergency program.
"Brazil has followed a similar model, giving us quick reporting," he told reporters at a briefing Friday after the latest meeting of the WHO's emergency committee on Zika.
Despite that assessment, the illness remains a "public health emergency of international concern," Salama said.
Heymann said Africa is of special interest, because the scope of the outbreaks there remains unknown, due to a lack of reporting.
Singapore has been able to identify cases "very early," Heymann said, adding it has a "very technically advanced health system."