Zika Risk In European Region - WHO Presser May 18

[niman]

 This Media Advisory is being forwarded on behalf of the WHO Regional Office for Europe:
> 
> 
> MEDIA ADVISORY: Virtual press briefing on WHO assessment of the risk of Zika virus spread in the European Region
> 
> On Wednesday 18 May, WHO will publish its first assessment of the risk of Zika virus spread in the European Region in late spring and summer. The report assesses the risk of a Zika virus outbreak based on the combination of two factors: the likelihood of Zika virus spread and existing national capacity to prevent and/or rapidly contain local transmission. It provides a breakdown of which countries have high, moderate, low, very low or no likelihood of local Zika virus transmission. The report also offers recommendations for countries, based on their likelihood of local transmission.
> 
> We invite you to a participate in a virtual press briefing on Wednesday 18 May at 11:00 CET with the two main authors of the report, along with the Director of Communicable Diseases and Health Security at the WHO Regional Office for Europe. The briefing will provide more details about the assessment and the speakers will take questions about the report’s findings.
> 
> The press briefing speakers will include:
> Dr Nedret Emiroglu: Director Communicable Diseases and Health Security, Division of Communicable Diseases & Health Security
> Dr Colleen Acosta: Epidemiologist, Alert and Response Operations, Division of Communicable Diseases & Health Security
> Dr João Pires: Medical Officer, Alert and Response Operations, Division of Communicable Diseases & Health Security
> To join the press briefing dial Arkadin (dial in numbers country by country are attached) and use participant PIN code 51823461#
> 
> Please feel free to contact Cristiana Salvi if you have questions: 
> 
> Cristiana Salvi
> Communications Officer, WHO Regional Office for Europe
> [email protected] 
> Office: +45 4533 6837
> Mobile: +45 2963 4218
> 

Edited May 18, 2016 by niman

[niman]

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[niman]

Highest risk is France (coastal areas highest) of 18 countries.

Edited May 18, 2016 by niman

[niman]

Travel advise unchanged at this time.

Local transmission could change advice.

[niman]

Zika virus expected to spread in Europe in late spring and summer: overall risk low to moderate

Press release
Copenhagen, 18 May 2016
 

The overall risk of a Zika virus outbreak across the WHO European Region is low to moderate during late spring and summer, according to a new risk assessment published today by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. While this risk varies across the Region, it is higher in countries where 

Aedes

 mosquitoes are present.

“The new evidence published today tells us that there is a risk of spread of Zika virus disease in the European Region and that this risk varies from country to country,” says Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “With this risk assessment, we at WHO want to inform and target preparedness work in each European country based on its level of risk. We call particularly on countries at higher risk to strengthen their national capacities and prioritize the activities that will prevent a large Zika outbreak.”

 

Results of the risk assessment

WHO assessed the risk of an outbreak in Member States in the Region and Lichtenstein, based on the combination of two factors: the likelihood of Zika virus spread and existing national capacity to prevent or rapidly contain local transmission.

Likelihood

The likelihood of local Zika virus transmission, if no measures are taken to mitigate the threat, is moderate in 18 countries in the European Region and high in limited geographical areas: the island of Madeira and the north-eastern coast of the Black Sea. In detail, this means that:

• the areas in the Region with the presence of Aedes aegypti, the primary Zika vector, have a high likelihood of local Zika virus transmission;
• 18 countries (33%) have a moderate likelihood, owing to the presence of Aedes albopictus,  a secondary Zika vector; and
• 36 countries (66%) have a low, very low or no likelihood, owing to the absence of Aedes mosquitoes and/or suitable climatic conditions for their establishment.

 

Capacity

The results of a questionnaire on capacity – how fast and well a country would respond to Zika virus spread – from 51 Member States in the Region and Liechtenstein indicate that 41 countries (79%) have good and very good capacity, although specific capacities varied substantially.

Risk

Combining the likelihood and capacity results provided the estimated level of risk of a Zika virus outbreak. The results show that across the WHO European Region the risk is low to moderate during late spring and summer.

 

Recommendations to European countries

For the purpose of recommendations, WHO focused on the likelihood, not the risk, of Zika virus spread. For countries with high and moderate likelihood of local Zika virus transmission, WHO recommends:

• strengthening vector-control activities to prevent the introduction and spread of mosquitoes, and reduce their density (particularly for areas with Aedes aegypti);
• equipping health professionals to detect local transmission of Zika virus early and to report the first case of local transmission, as well as complications from infections, within 24 hours of diagnosis;
• ensuring that the skills and capacity to test for Zika virus or protocols to ship blood samples abroad are in place;
• encouraging communities to reduce mosquito breeding sites;
• enabling people at risk, especially pregnant women, to protect themselves from infection, including through sexual transmission; and
• mitigating the effects of Zika virus and its complications.

All other countries should focus on adopting vector-control strategies according to their likelihood of local Zika virus transmission, detecting imported cases of Zika virus early and providing public health advice to travellers to and from affected countries, including on sexual transmission.

 

WHO response

“We stand ready to support European countries on the ground in case of Zika virus outbreaks,” says Dr Nedret Emiroglu, Director of the Communicable Diseases and Health Security Division, WHO Regional Office for Europe. “Our support to countries in the Region to prepare for and respond to health risks such as Zika is a key aspect of the reform of WHO’s work in emergencies.”

To address the risk of Zika virus spread in the European Region, WHO is scaling up efforts:

• to provide guidance on vector control in coordination with other sectors;
• to facilitate the shipment of samples to WHO reference laboratories or deliver diagnostic tools for local testing; and
• to advise on risk communication and community engagement.

WHO will convene a regional consultation in Portugal on 22–24 June 2016 to examine the conclusions of the risk assessment and identify countries’ needs, strengths and gaps in relation to preventing and responding to Zika virus disease.  

 

Note to editors

1. As to the methodology of the risk assessment, the risk of a Zika virus outbreak in countries in the European Region varies widely and depends on multiple aspects. WHO combined two main factors to determine this risk:

1. the likelihood of virus spread based on the presence of Zika-transmitting mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and/orAedes albopictus) in the country, as well as factors such as a suitable climate for mosquito establishment, previous history of transmission of dengue or chikungunya, ship and flight connections, and population density and urbanization;
2. the capacity of the country to contain transmission at an early stage, based on four main factors: vector control, clinical surveillance, laboratory capacity and emergency risk communications.

Some limitations of this risk assessment include data gaps on the distribution of Aedes mosquitoes; the fact that countries are classified as a whole (not divided into smaller areas), as data were available only at the country level; and the impossibility of validating countries’ responses.

2. The WHO European Region comprises 53 countries, with a population of nearly 900 million, stretching from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Mediterranean Sea in the south, and from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east.

3. Further information is available from the website of the WHO Regional Office for Europe:

• Zika virus. Technical report. Interim risk assessment WHO European Region (Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2016 (URL to be added));
• Frequently asked questions
• Zika virus vectors and risk of spread in the WHO European Region (http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/emergencies/zika-virus/news/news/2016/03/zika-virus-vectors-and-risk-of-spread-in-the-who-european-region);
• Zika virus (http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/emergencies/zika-virus); and
• the countries in the WHO European Region (http://www.euro.who.int/en/countries).

4. Information is also available from WHO headquarters on the Zika virus and potential complications (http://www.who.int/emergencies/zika-virus/en).

 

For more information, contact:

Cristiana Salvi

Communications Officer

Communicable Diseases and Health Security

WHO Regional Office for Europe

UN City, Marmorvej 51

2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark

Tel.: +45 45 33 68 37

Email: 

[email protected]

[niman]

Zika virus expected in Europe by late spring, says WHO

By Meera Senthilingam, for CNN

 

Updated 9:49 AM ET, Wed May 18, 2016

 

The Aedes aegypti can transmit the Zika virus.

Story highlights

• The risk of an outbreak across the region is moderate to low
• The highest risk is on the island of Madeira and the north-east coast of the Black Sea

 

Vital Signs is a monthly program bringing viewers health stories from around the world.

(CNN)The Zika virus is expected to reach Europe by late spring, according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO), but the risk of an outbreak across the region will be low to moderate.

The risk will be greatest in countries where the mosquitoes spreading the disease, Aedes aegypti, are found naturally.

In the first risk assessment of Zika transmission in Europe, published Wednesday, WHO investigated the risk of an outbreak in the region's 53 member states and identified the highest likelihood of transmission to be on the island of Madeira and the north-eastern coast of the Black Sea.

 

Zika: Cloned virus a step toward vaccine

Another 18 countries (33% of the region) were determined to have a moderate likelihood of an outbreak. These countries, in order of likelihood, are France, Italy, Malta, Croatia, Israel, Spain, Monaco, San Marino, Turkey, Greece, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Georgia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.

"In [these] countries in the European region, especially in the Mediterranean basin, there is a moderate likelihood of local Zika virus transmission," said Dr. Nedret Emiroglu, director of the Communicable Diseases and Health Security Division, WHO Regional Office for Europe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NIH Director: Zika virus unprecedented 02:32

The remaining 36 countries were decide to be at low, very low, or no likelihood of a Zika outbreak due to the absence of the mosquito vectors and unsuitable climates for them to survive if the mosquitoes were to spread there.

Overall levels of risk across the region were determined using this likelihood of the virus to spread within countries, but also on their existing services and capacity to prevent, or contain, an outbreak if transmission was to occur. Population density, urbanization and any history of transmission of Dengue fever -- which spreads via the same mosquitoes -- were also taken into account.

 

Zika virus: 5 things you need to know

On combining these factors, the risk was determined to be low to moderate during late spring and summer across the European region.

"The new evidence published today tells us that there is a risk of spread of Zika virus disease in the European region and that this risk varies from country to country," said Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO regional director for Europe, in a statement. "With this risk assessment, we at WHO want to inform and target preparedness work in each European country based on its level of risk."

The organization is now calling on countries at highest risk to strengthen their national capacity and prioritize the activities needed to prevent a large Zika outbreak from occurring.

Their recommendations include strengthening mosquito control, equipping health teams with the ability to diagnose cases accurately, detect cases early and to spot when transmission of the disease is occurring locally -- meaning infections are spreading from person-to-person and not only occurring in travelers returning from outbreak hotspots. WHO also highlighted the need to inform people to remove any potential breeding sites for mosquitoes, such as shallow water.

 

NASA and NCAR map Zika's potential spread in the U.S.

"We stand ready to support European countries on the ground in case of Zika virus outbreaks," Emiroglu said. "Our support to countries in the region to prepare for and respond to health risks such as Zika is a key aspect of the reform of WHO's work in emergencies."

The Zika virus poses the greatest risk to pregnant women because an infection can cause microcephalyand other birth defects in babies. The world health body is continuing to recommend they, and others at risk, protect themselves from infections, including through sexual transmission.

The virus has also been linked to Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare disease in which a person's own immune system damages the nerve cells, causing muscular weakness and, in some cases, paralysis.

"Summer is approaching fast and the risk of Zika spreading to Europe is real," said Jimmy Whitworth, professor of International Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. "WHO reports that most countries in the European region are well prepared...however, countries in Southern Europe, including France and Italy, need to be especially vigilant and it's important that holidaymakers follow public health advice while abroad, "

Read: Singapore confirms its first imported case of Zika

As of May 11 2016, 58 countries and territories are reporting continuing mosquito transmission of the Zika virus.

The organization will convene in June to re-examine the risk of an outbreak and identify any gaps in a country's ability to control the Zika virus.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/18/health/zika-virus-low-moderate-risk-in-europe-by-summer/

 

[niman]

Zika Virus May Spread To Europe In Coming Months, WHO Warns

The risk varies from country to country.

 05/18/2016 10:15 am ET

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Kate Kelland

ACHIM PRILL VIA GETTY IMAGES

While Europe’s overall risk is small to moderate, it is highest in areas where Aedes mosquitoes thrive, in particular on the island of Madeira and the north-eastern coast of the Black Sea.

May 18 The Zika virus, an infectious disease linked to severe birth defects in babies, may spread into Europe as the weather gets warmer, although the risk is low, health officials said on Wednesday.

In its first assessment of the threat Zika poses to the region, the World Health Organization’s European office said the overall risk was small to moderate. It is highest in areas where Aedes mosquitoes thrive, in particular on the island of Madeira and the north-eastern coast of the Black Sea.

“There is a risk of spread of Zika virus disease in the European Region and ... this risk varies from country to country, said Zsuzsanna Jakab, the WHO’s regional director for Europe.

“We call particularly on countries at higher risk to strengthen their national capacities and prioritize the activities that will prevent a large Zika outbreak.”

The WHO’s European region covers 53 countries and a population of nearly 900 million. It stretches from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Mediterranean Sea in the south and from the Atlantic in the west to the Pacific in the east.

A large and spreading outbreak of Zika that began in Brazil has caused global alarm. The virus has been linked to thousands of cases of a birth defect known as microcephaly in babies of women who become infected with Zika while pregnant.

The WHO has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can also cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults.

The WHO’s Geneva headquarters in February declared the Zika outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), warning it was spreading “explosively” in the Americas.

The WHO’s European office said that if no measures are taken to mitigate the threat, the presence of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that can carry the virus mean the likelihood of local Zika transmission is moderate in 18 countries in the region.

A further 36 countries have low, very low or no likelihood, the assessment found. Aedes mosquitoes are not found in those countries and their climates would not be suitable for the mosquitoes to establish themselves.

Countries with high and moderate risk of Zika should improve vector-control measures to prevent the spread of mosquitoes and reduce their density, WHO Europe said. They also should equip health workers to detect cases early, report them swiftly, and help people at risk - notably pregnant women - protect themselves from infection, it said.

The WHO’s European risk analysis took in multiple factors, among them the presence of Zika-transmitting mosquitoes, suitable climates for the mosquito, previous history of transmission of dengue or chikungunya, ship and flight connections, and population density and urbanization.

It also considered the capacity of the country to contain transmission at an early stage, based on four main factors: vector control, clinical surveillance, laboratory capacity and emergency risk communications.

The WHO’s regional office is convening a meeting of European health experts in Portugal from June 22-24 to discuss the Zika threat further.

 

(Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Larry King)

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zika-virus-may-spread-to-europe-in-coming-months-who-warns_us_573c76f7e4b0646cbeeb9bc8

 

 

[niman]

Zika Virus Likely to Hit Europe, Too, World Health Organization Says

by MAGGIE FOX

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Travelers planning a Zika-free trip this summer might want to take note: Europe's not entirely safe from the virus.

The Zika virus is likely to spread to parts of Europe this summer, although it won't spread like it has in central and South America, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

 

An aedes aegypti mosquito Carlos Jasso / Reuters

Just as with everywhere else Zika is spreading, the risk depends on mosquitoes — especially the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus species most likely to carry the virus.

Aedes aegypti is the main carrier and it thrives in warm regions, WHO said.

"In the European Region, it is established primarily in the Mediterranean basin and in particular in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and Vatican City," WHO said.

Related: Here's What a Zika Infection Looks Like

But the Asian tiger mosquito, also known as Aedes albopictus, can tolerate cooler weather and can also spread Zika. Zika's a close relative of the dengue and chikungunya viruses and health experts look to where they have been found to predict Zika's spread.

"Outbreaks of dengue (Madeira, Portugal, in 2012 and Croatia and France in 2010) and chikungunya (Italy in 2007) have been reported in the region in the past few year," WHO said. "In all these cases, A. albopictus was the main vector, except in Madeira, where it was A. aegypti."

"IN THE EUROPEAN REGION, IT IS ESTABLISHED PRIMARILY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN."

The good news is that two-thirds of European countries have a low risk of Zika.

"The new evidence published today tells us that there is a risk of spread of Zika virus disease in the European Region and that this risk varies from country to country," said. Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe.

Zika's spreading fast across Central and South America and health officials say there will certainly be cases and probably limited outbreaks in the United States once the weather gets warmer and mosquitoes start to get really active.

WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned pregnant women, or those who might become pregnant, to stay away from areas where Zika is spreading.

And men need to make sure they don't infect their sexual partners. The virus often doesn't cause symptoms in the people it infects, but it can cause serious birth defects and, in rare cases, severe side-effects in adults.

It has killed a man in Puerto Rico and several U.S. babies have already fallen victim to Zika-related birth defects.

Congress and the White House are fighting over funding for Zika preparedness and research. The House has delayed until Thursday a scheduled vote on one measure the White House has threatened to veto, saying it's far too little. 

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/zika-virus-outbreak/zika-virus-likely-hit-europe-too-world-health-organization-says-n576161

 

[niman]