New Year update about Zika virus The Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne virus originally discovered in the Zika Forest area in Uganda in 1947. It was not considered a relevant pathogen for humans until the outbreaks of fever illness that occurred in the Pacific area in 2007, and later in 2013-14. However, it was its arrival and dramatic spread in Brazil and other Latin American and Caribbean countries that alarmed public health authorities and the scientific community.
What health communicators can learn from Ebola Since the World Health Organisation declared Zika a global public health emergency in February of this year, much attention has been brought to bear on applying lessons learned during the Ebola crisis of 2014-15.
Response to Zika in Four Latin American Countries In a new report on Zika in four Central American countries – Honduras, El Salvador, Dominican Republic and Guatemala – the Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3) offers recommendations for improving the social and behavior change communication (SBCC) response to the virus. HC3 visited the four countries in March and April 2016 to quickly take the pulse of the Zika situation and the local response.
Temperatures could accelerate the success of a Zika vaccine As warmer temperatures herald annoying mosquitoes, the researchers are feverishly working on several promising vaccines against zika, a virus known to infect humans through the bite of this insect. The speed and debilitating effects of last year's zika outbreak in the Western Hemisphere generated a race to develop a vaccine. Just over a year after this pandemic was declared a global health emergency, a group of volunteers are undergoing preliminary testing.
The Role of Men in Zika Prevention Zika prevention efforts have primarily focused on infected mosquitos as the primary mode of transmission. Given the potential negative pregnancy outcomes of Zika, including congenital syndrome and microcephaly, pregnant women and women of reproductive age have been the focus of mosquito bite prevention efforts and messages.
Zika Brings Multiple Inequalities to Light While Zika really can affect anyone, we also know that women who are faced with multiple inequalities are likely to be affected disproportionately…. We know how to try to reduce risk of Zika [at] multiple levels—it’s wearing bug repellent, it’s using screens on your windows, using air conditioning.