Admin Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 WHO Media Advisory 7 March 2016 Second Meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee concerning Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations On Tuesday, 8 March 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) is convening the Emergency Committee (EC) on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) for the second time. The EC is being convened five weeks after its first meeting due to the growing strength of evidence about Zika and the virus’s association with microcephaly and Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). The EC will be reviewing the implementation of recommendations made as part of the declaration of a Public Health Event of International Concern (PHEIC) and their impact on the emergency. The committee will also consider, in light of substantial new information since their previous meeting, whether precautionary measures included in the PHEIC should be strengthened or modified. The meeting will be held by teleconference. A briefing for the media will follow the Emergency Committee and a WHO statement, giving an account of the meeting and its conclusions, will be posted on the WHO public website and sent to the media. WHAT: Second meeting of the Zika Virus Infection and Possible Neurological Complications Emergency Committee WHEN: EC begins at 8 March 2016 at 13h00 FOR JOURNALISTS: A press briefing will be held at approximately 19h00 on 8 March in the Library Room at WHO Headquarters. The briefing will be given by Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, and Dr David Heymann, Chair of the Emergency Committee Journalists will also be able to dial into the briefing. Phone-in details will follow tomorrow. Additional links on IHR Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations Emergency Committee Statementhttp://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2016/1st-emergency-committee-zika/en/ WHO Director-General summarizes the outcome of the Emergency Committee regarding clusters of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndromehttp://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2016/emergency-committee-zika-microcephaly/en/ Emergency committee members and advisershttp://www.who.int/ihr/emergency-committee-zika/en/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted March 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 List of Members of, and Advisers to, the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations1 February 2016CHAIRProfessor David L. HeymannProfessor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandMEMBERSDr Fernando AlthabeDirector, Department of Maternal and Child Health Research, Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaDr Kalpana BaruahJoint Director, National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, IndiaDr Silvia BinoAssociate Professor of Infectious Diseases; Head, Control of Infectious Diseases Department, Institute of Public Health, Tirana, AlbaniaProfessor David O. FreedmanProfessor of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, United States of AmericaDr Abraham HodgsonDirector, Research and Development Division, Ghana Health Service, Accra, GhanaDr Nyoman KandunProgram Director, Field Epidemiology Training Program, Ministry of Health, Jakarta, IndonesiaDr Ghazala MahmudDean, Faculty of Medicine, Quaid i Azam University and former Dean, Quaid i Azam Post Graduate Medical College, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, PakistanDr K.U. MenonSenior Consultant, Ministry of Communications and Information, SingaporeDr Amadou Alpha SallDirector of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Arboviruses and Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, Institut Pasteur de Dakar, SenegalDr Jennifer Erin StaplesMedical Epidemiologist, Arboviral Disease Branch, Division of Vector-borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, United States of AmericaDr Pedro Fernando da Costa VasconcelosHead, Department of Arbovirology and Haemorrhagic Fevers; Director, National Reference Laboratory for Arboviruses; Director, National Institute for Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, Ananindeua, BrazilADVISERSDr Férechté Encha-RazaviAssociate Professor, University of Paris-Déscartes, and Senior Consultant, Centres Pluridisciplinaires de Diagnostic Prénatal, Necker-Sick Children’s Hospital, Paris, FranceDr Anthony EvansAviation Medicine Consultant, International Civil Aviation Organization, Montreal, CanadaDr Dirk GlaesserDirector, Sustainable Development of Tourism Programme, World Tourism Organization, Madrid, SpainProfessor Duane J. GublerProfessor and Founding Director, Signature Research Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-Nus Graduate Medical School, SingaporeDr Leonard MboeraChief Research Scientist and the Director of Information Technology and Communication, National Institute for Medical Research, Dar es Salaam,TanzaniaDr James MeeganNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Office of Global Research, Bethesda, United States of AmericaDr Maria Mercedes Muñoz RamírezCoordinator, Public Health Surveillance Group, Department of Epidemiology and Demography, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Bogota, ColombiaDr Rafael ObregónChief, Communication for Development Section, United Nations Children’s Fund, New York, United States of Americahttp://www.who.int/ihr/procedures/zika-ec-members/en/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted March 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Members of, and Advisers to, the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformationsChair of the Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformationsProfessor David L. HeymannProfessor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Professor David Heymann is currently professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Head and Senior Fellow, Centre on Global Health Security at Chatham House, London; and chairman of Public Health England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Previously, he was the World Health Organization's (WHO) Assistant Director-General for Health Security and Environment, and Representative of the Director-General for polio eradication.From 1998 to 2003, he was Executive Director of the WHO Communicable Diseases Cluster, during which he headed the global response to SARS, and prior to that was Director for the WHO programme on Emerging and other Communicable Diseases.Earlier experiences at WHO include chief of research activities in the WHO global programme on AIDS. Before joining WHO he worked for 13 years as a medical epidemiologist in sub-Saharan Africa, on assignment from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he participated in the first and second outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, and supported ministries of health in research aimed at better control of malaria, measles, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.Prior to joining CDC he worked in India for two years as a medical epidemiologist in the WHO smallpox eradication programme.He is an elected fellow of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, United States of America, and the Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and has been awarded several public health awards that have provided funding for the establishment of an on-going mentorship programme at the International Association of Public Health Institutes.Dr Fernando AlthabeDirector, Department of Maternal and Child Health Research, Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy, Buenos Aires, Argentina Dr Fernando Althabe, MD, MSc is Adjunct Professor of Public Health at the University of Buenos Aires, Adjunct Associate Professor at the Tulane Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University, Georgia, United States of America, and Director of the Department of Mother and Child Research at the Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy (IECS) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Dr Althabe trained as an obstetrician and has 15 years working as a clinician. He obtained his Master degree in epidemiology from the University of London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.He has considerable experience in designing and conducting multicentre, multinational randomized controlled trials in the implementation of research in maternal and child health. He has conducted cluster, randomized trials to evaluate complex interventions to reduce unnecessary caesarean sections; to increase the use of Active management of the third stage of labour (AMTSL) and reduce episiotomy; to increase the use of brief counselling for tobacco cessation; and to increase the use of antenatal steroids and evaluate their effectiveness.Dr Althabe has extensive experience in teaching research methods and currently coordinates a PhD Program for the University of Buenos Aires in Implementation Research together with Tulane University which is funded by Fogarty International Center, United States of America.Dr Kalpana BaruahJoint Director, National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi, India Dr Kalpana Baruah is the Joint Director of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India. Dr Baruah is also the country focal point for dengue and chikungunya; member of WHO Scientific and Technical Advisory Group on Geographical Yellow Fever Risk Mapping (2015); member for the Peer Review of WHO SEARO comprehensive guidelines on Dengue (2010); member of the Expert Group for the establishment and strengthening of Public Health Laboratories in India (2011); and member of the Task Force for the prevention and control of Dengue in Delhi. Dr Baruah is involved in monitoring Aedes breeding in international airports and seaports in India according to the International Health Regulations (IHR).Dr Baruah received a PhD from Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam State, in India. She has more than 29 years of experience in various national programmes such as the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme , the National Centre for Disease Control , and the National Institute of Malarial Research. She was instrumental in developing the Sentinel Surveillance network for Dengue and Chikungunya in the National Programme.She has developed Standard Operating Procedures on malaria microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests which were implemented under the Indian National Programme. Within this programme, she was also involved in the introduction of insecticide treated bed nets for malaria control and the capacity building of programme managers.Dr Baruah has published approximately 30 scientific papers in national and international journals.Dr Silvia BinoAssociate Professor of Infectious Diseases, Head, Control of Infectious Diseases Department, Institute of Public Health, Tirana, Albania Dr Silvia Bino, MD, Ph.D, is the Head of the Control of Infectious Diseases and Immunization Department of the Institute of Public Health and an Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases at the Faculty of Medicine, Tirana University, Albania. She was the Director of National Public Health Institute from 2000-2006.She has coordinated infectious diseases control programmes, (including the immunization programme), helped to establish syndromic based early warning surveillance system, and, since 2014, has been working to establish an integrated mosquito control program in Albania.She has also coordinated surveillance, diagnostic, and response activities for pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009, and seasonal influenza in Albania and beyond in South East European Region as part of the network to strengthen surveillance and control of communicable diseases. This has fostered early warning systems, policy development, preparedness and response, and expert and institutional collaboration in the implementation of the International Health Regulations.She has been a consultant to WHO and other UN agencies and served as a member of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization until April 2009, the Review Committee on the Functioning of the International Health Regulations (2005) in relation to Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) in 2009 and later on the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework Advisory Group.She earned her medical degree from the Tirana University, Albania. She continued her postgraduate training and research studies on infectious diseases, microbiology, field epidemiology and public health in Switzerland, Belgium, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America.She has published more than 30 papers in well quoted journals.Dr Férechté Encha-RazaviAssociate Professor, University of Paris-Déscartes, and Senior Consultant, Centres Pluridisciplinaires de Diagnostic Prénatal, Necker-Sick Children’s Hospital, Paris, France As a paediatrician involved in foetal pathology, Dr Férechté Encha-Razavi has conducted and participated in numerous research programs on foetal diseases, caused by genetic disorders or acquired (in hypoxic-ischemic context and/or during materno-foetal infections). In 2012, her group received the Moore award, delivered by the American Association of Neuropathologists , where she is registered as an active member.From 1998 to 2009, Dr Encha-Razavi was the head of the Unit of Foetal and Placental Pathology at the Necker Hospital, Paris, France, during which she developed the concept of pathological embryology, chaired a teaching program on human embryology and promoted research on developmental defects.As a member of the French Society of Foetal Pathology , Dr Encha-Razavi served as President from 2005 to 2009, promoting teaching and research on foetal medicine and on its ethical and legal aspects.Prior to joining the University of Paris-Déscartes, Dr Encha-Razavi worked for ten years at the University Hospital of Baharami in Teheran, Islamic Republic of Iran, and was very much involved in social paediatrics and endemic infectious diseases.Dr Encha-Razavi is the author of numerous textbooks and reports on foetal pathology, printed by international publishers and scientific journals with peer review.Dr Anthony EvansConsultant, Aviation Medicine Section, International Civil Aviation Organization, Montreal, Canada Dr Anthony Evans is a consultant (and formerly Section Chief) to the Aviation Medicine Section at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). He is also the former Manager of the “Collaborative Arrangement for the Prevention and Management of Public Health Events in Civil Aviation”, a global multi-sector programme of ICAO that, in collaboration with WHO and other partners, promotes and facilitates the implementation of International Health Regulations (IHR) core capacities in the aviation sector.Previously, Dr Evans was the Chief Medical Officer of the Civil Aviation Authority for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Dr Evans’ fields of professional concentration also include the development and implementation of harmonised medical requirements for pilots and air traffic controllers.Other current professional activities include memberships in the Faculty of Occupational Medicine of the United Kingdom, of the Society of Occupational Medicine and of the Royal Aeronautic Society. He is also a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association and Secretary General of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine.Dr Evans has been a consultant to the World Health Organization, a member of the IHR Emergency Committee concerning Influenza Pandemic (H1N1) and is currently an adviser to the IHR Emergency Committees concerning Ebola, Poliomyelitis and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus.Professor David O. FreedmanDepartments of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, United States of America Dr Freedman has been on the Infectious Diseases faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham since 1989 where he founded the UAB Travelers’ Health Clinic. For 18 years, until 2013, he was Director of the global GeoSentinel Surveillance Network which he co-founded and which currently maintains the largest database of ill travelers available.GeoSentinel is a network of 60 travel/tropical medicine units on six continents that is primarily funded by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over 40 publications from the consortium have defined pathogens, risks and threats to receiving countries.Since 2005, he has served as President of the Gorgas Memorial Institute, headquartered in Birmingham, which focuses on education and research in tropical diseases affecting the Americas. He co-directs the Gorgas Courses in Clinical Tropical Medicine that are given in Peru; over 700 physicians from 65 countries have received training at Gorgas. He was Secretary-Treasurer of the International Society of Travel Medicine from 2005-13 and is co-Editor of the textbook, Travel Medicine, now in its 3rd Edition. He is Associate Editor of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal and on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Travel Medicine.He has been Chair of the Advisory Panel on Parasitic Diseases of the United States Pharmacopeia, and a Councillor of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.In addition to Peru and Panama, Professor Freedman has participated in research projects in Guatemala. He has also worked for over a decade at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in north-eastern Brazil.Dr Abraham HodgsonDirector, Research and Development Division, Ghana Health Service, Accra, Ghana Dr Abraham Hodgson is medical doctor and public health specialist who was Director of the Navrongo Health Research Centre from 2000 to 2011. He is currently the Director of the Research and Development Division of the Ghana Health Service. He had conducted research mainly in cerebrospinal meningitis.He is currently the Co-Principal Investigator of the maternal and child health study funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency on continuum of care in Ghana. Dr Nyoman KandunProgram Director, Field Epidemiology Training Program , Jakarta, Indonesia Dr Nyoman Kandun graduated from the School of Medicine, University of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He achieved his Master degree of public health from the Institute of Public Health, University of the Philippines System, Manila. He later graduated from Indonesia’s Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP). Prior to his current duty as Program Director of the Indonesian FETP which he has held since 2008, he served as a civil servant for 33 years. Dr Kandun retired from the Ministry of Health in 2008 with his last position being Director General of Disease Control and Environmental Health.Alongside his role as FETP Director, Dr Kandun also actively supports a number of public health programmes and activities. He was a member of various organizations, such as the Advisory Board of the National Agency for Disaster Management , the Immunization Technical Advisory Group WHO/SEARO, an Emeritus Member of the Board of Trustee of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), a member of the Subcommittee of Health Research WHO-SEARO, a member of the Board of Directors of the South Asia Field Epidemiology Training and Technology Network, the Chairman of the National Task Force of Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination, an Expert for the Committee of the National Commission of Zoonotic Diseases Control, a member of the Global Health Security Agenda Expert Committee, and Chair of the Accreditation Commission of Primary Health Care in Indonesia.He frequently lectures on public health issues at universities and training courses in Indonesia and as a speaker at national and international events.Professor Ghazala MahmudDean Faculty of Medicine, Quaid e Azam University and Former Dean, Quaid i Azam Post Graduate Medical College, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad , Pakistan Dr Ghazala Mahmud graduated in 1976 and obtained a Fellowship of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists,, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in 1999. She is currently engaged in establishing a new Hospital and Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Fazaiah Medical College, Air University Islamabad, Pakistan.She has previously worked as a teaching fellow at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. She became Dean at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in 2008 and Dean at the Faculty of Medicine at Quaid e Azam University, Pakistan.As the founding Professor and Head, she was involved with the planning, implementation and running of a 150-bed Mother and Child Health joint project with the Japan International cooperation Agency . She was the National Programme Manager of the MCH-JICA safe motherhood project at PIMS (1996-2001) in Islamabad, Pakistan, where she undertook comprehensive maternal health research studies and trained health care professionals including female health workers and birth attendants both in health facilities and communities.She served as a member to the technical advisory group “Abortion Study” by the Population Council, Women’s Health Project (WHP) from 2002 to 2007, and Maternal newborn and child health from 2008 to 2012.From 2007 to 2014, she was a member of the WHO EMRO-AFRO regional advisory panel for research in reproductive health. Since 2014, she has been on the International Health Regulations Roster of Experts.She has travelled widely to attend various seminars, conferences and represented the Government of Pakistan at various international forums. She has written 64 publications, she is the author of four books published in Indian/Oxford Text books, the resource person for local maternal health information pamphlets, and the Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care Manual for national training since 2007.She has won awards for outstanding research, two gold medals for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and an Honorary Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan.Dr Dirk GlaesserDirector, Sustainable Development Programme, World Tourism Organization, Spain Dr Dirk Glaesser is the Director for Sustainable Development of Tourism at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The SDT programme deals with the different challenges and opportunities of tourism development, among them environment and planning, investment and finance, and safety and security.Under his supervision, the programme engages in top-level coordination with the World Health Organization,, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations System Influenza Coordination and the Tourism Emergency Response Network to promote safe travel behavior and has closely monitored the various health emergencies, from Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 to the most recent Ebola epidemics, and their impact on travel and tourism.Dr Glaesser is an advisor to the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Ebola. Professor Duane J. GublerProfessor and Founding Director, Signature Research Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore Professor Dr Duane J. Gubler is Professor and Founding Director of the Signature Research Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore. He is Adjunct Professor in his alma mater, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Duke University School of Medicine, United States of America.He has spent his entire career working on tropical infectious diseases with an emphasis on dengue and dengue haemorrhagic fever. He has extensive field experience in Asia, the Pacific, tropical America and Africa, and has published extensively in the area of dengue and other vector-borne infectious diseases.Professor Gubler was the founding Chief of the Dengue Branch, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Puerto Rico for nine years, Director of the Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases in Fort Collins, CDC for 15 years and Chair, the Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology, University of Hawaii School of Medicine, in Honolulu for five years.He has served on numerous WHO and national committees and study groups, and was the founding Chair, Board of Councilors, Paediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative. He currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of a number of companies and institutions.Professor Gubler serves as Chairman of the Partnership for Dengue Control, a global alliance of experts in the dengue community. He is a Fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Past President of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.Dr Leonard MboeraChief Research Scientist and the Director of Information Technology and Communication, National Institute for Medical Research, Tanzania Dr Mboera holds a PhD in Mosquito Chemical Ecology from the Wageningen University and Research Centre, Kingdom of the he Netherlands, Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine of the Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania, MSc in Applied Entomology (Medical/Veterinary) of University of London and Diploma from Imperial College, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Dr Mboera joined the National Institute for Medical Research, Tanzania in October 1992 as a research scientist. Prior to that he worked as a veterinary surgeon and trainer with Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Research and Training Central Zone in Mpwapwa, Tanzania.Dr Mboera has carried out considerable research into mosquito ecology, malaria epidemiology, ecosystems and health systems. He is recognized for his scientific knowledge on malaria and lymphatic filariasis mosquito resource seeking behaviours. His studies in mosquito behavior have changed the sampling techniques for anthropophilic mosquitoes in Sub-Saharan Africa.Dr Mboera was the first coordinator of the East African Integrated Disease Surveillance and leader in the Tanzania National Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response Strengthening Project. He has served on a number of national, regional and international committees; namely as a Member of the Executive Board of Southern Africa Climate Change Network; Chair of the Regional Southern Africa Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance, a Member of the Research Ethics Committee at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Secretary General of the East African Public Health Association, and a member of the Editorial Advisory Committee of the Rwanda Journal of Health Research.He is the Editor of the Tanzania Journal of Health Research and Associate Editor of the East African Journal of Public Research. Dr Mboera has published 116 scientific articles in biomedical and health systems, including three books and one book chapter.Dr Maria Mercedes Muñoz RamírezCoordinator of the Group for Public Health Surveillance, Department of Epidemiology and Demography, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Bogota, Colombia Dr Maria Mercedes Muñoz Ramírez is a medical surgeon who graduated from the National University of Colombia, Bogota, Colombia. She is an epidemiology specialist at the University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia and holds a Master in Public Health. Her work experience has been carried out over the last 14 years in the country's official sector and international cooperation agencies.Dr Munoz has worked at the Santiago de Cali and Social Security Institute, where she developed epidemiological profiles and led public health surveillance matters at the San Pedro Claver Hospital. As a member of the Group for Public Health Surveillance, which belonged to the General Public Health Directorate at the Ministry for Social Welfare, she participated in the H1N1 pandemic response.She is the focal point for the International Health Regulations in Colombia and has coordinated surveillance processes of emerging events in America such as Ebola, Chikungunya and Zika virus.She has worked as a national consultant with international aid agencies, where agreements have been finalized between the Pan American Health Organization, Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization, and World Food Program.Dr James MeeganDirector, Office of Global Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institute of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services, United States of America James M. Meegan received his PhD from the University of Connecticut, and has had a long career in science, specializing in microbiology/virology, infectious diseases, and arthropod-borne and haemorrhagic fever viruses.He has held research positions at University of California at Berkeley, Yale Medical School, United States Army Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, and the Naval Medical Research Institute and at its overseas laboratories.He has held leadership positions at the World Health Organization (Geneva 1988-92), the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the United States. National Institutes of Health (NIH), and was a Senior Director of Research and Development at Invitrogen/Life Technologies Corporation.Since 2012, he has re-joined NIH as the Director of Global Research at NIAID. His research programs have focused on the role of viral diseases in international health and tropical medicine.He has many distinguished awards, has published numerous scholarly manuscripts, and has been a consultant and advisor to various individual countries, scientific groups and commissions.Dr K.U. MenonSenior Consultant with the Ministry of Communications and Information and the Arts, Singapore Dr Menon is a Senior Consultant with the Ministry of Communications and Information in Singapore. For over a decade, he headed the National Resilience Division responsible for emergency planning, and coordinating information flow during all civil and national emergencies, such as the Silkair MI 185 air crash, the collapse of Barings Bank, the influx of Vietnamese refugees; and the outbreaks of SARS, Avian influenza, H1N1 pandemic to name a few.He began his career in research with the Ministry of Defence in 1978. Prior to his deployment to the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts , he was a Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) with a special interest in the security of small states in South East Asia.He has an honours degree in Social Anthropology from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Media Management from the University of South Australia. He undertook postgraduate work in political science at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.He has published articles in political science journals and monographs during his term at ISEAS and more recently in the Journal of Communications Management (London), Annals of the Academy of Medicine (Singapore) and with S. Rajaratnam, School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University , Singapore, touching on issues of Public Health and Risk Communications.He retired in 2009, but continues to be engaged full-time by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts in Singapore.Dr Rafael ObregónChief of the Communication for Development Section at the United Nations Children’s Fund , New York, United States of America Dr Rafael Obregón provides technical leadership and guidance on the development of standards, guidelines, and quality assurance for the application of communication for development principles and strategies across programmatic areas of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), including emergency response and humanitarian action.He has served as Regional Advisor for Health Communication within the Area of Family and Community Health and Child and Adolescent Health Unit at the Pan American Health Organization, Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). Dr Obregón has also been a technical advisor, researcher and resource/focal person for international/national cooperation agencies and government and non-governmental organizations. His duties have focused on formative research, project design and evaluation, and capacity strengthening. Dr Obregón has also been associate professor and guest faculty member at a number of universities, including Ohio University, United States of America, the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia, and the Universidad Autónoma in Barcelona, Spain.Throughout his career, he has written several books, book chapters, monographs, manuals, peer- reviewed journal articles and reports on public health communication, participatory communication and capacity development. He is a member of several editorial boards including the Journal of Health Communication, and has been a member of several scientific committees including the World Congress on Communication and Development, convened by the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Communication Initiative, as wells as a member of the Technical Advisory Group for the Global Health Communication Partnership within the Center for Communication Programs at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States of America.Dr Obregón earned his PhD in an Interdisciplinary Program in Mass Communications, with a concentration on international health, at the College of Communications at Pennsylvania State University, United States of America, in 1999. He received his Master of Arts in International Affairs and Communication and Development from Ohio University, United States of America, in 1994 with a minor in public health. Additionally, he obtained a Diploma in Education and Pedagogy through the National Apprenticeship Service in Colombia in 1990.Dr Amadou Alpha SallDirector of the WHO Collaborating Center for arboviruses and viral haemorrhagic fevers, Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Senegal Dr Amadou A. Sall is a virologist and has a PhD in Public Health. He received his scientific education at Universities Paul Sabatier at Toulouse, Paris Orsay and Pierre et Marie Curie in France. He has also visited several laboratories for his training including Institut Pasteur in Paris, France; Institute of Virology and environmental medicine in Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Center for tropical disease at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, United States of America (USA) and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, New York, USA.From 2002 to2004, Dr Sall worked in Cambodia as Head of the viral hepatitis laboratory at the Institut Pasteur Cambodia. From 2010 to 2011, he worked as a Visiting Research Scientist at the Center for Infection and Immunity at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, USA, on pathogen discovery.He is currently Head of the Arboviruses and viral haemorrhagic fever unit, Director of the WHO Collaborating Center and Scientific Director of the Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Senegal, which belongs to the Institut Pasteur International Network. His research focuses primarily on diagnostics, ecology and evolution of arboviruses and viral haemorrhagic fevers. Dr Sall has published more than 100 papers and book chapters and has given more than 150 scientific communications at international meetings.Dr Sall is a member of several WHO expert groups, including the Global Outbreak and Alert Response Network and the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization. He has also worked as a consultant for the World Organisation for Animal Health.Dr Jennifer Erin StaplesMedical Epidemiologist, Arboviral Disease Branch, Division of Vector-borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, United States of America Dr Jennifer Erin Staples, MD, PhD, is a medical epidemiologist with the Arboviral Diseases Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases , United States of America. She is responsible for a wide variety of arboviral diseases, focusing particularly on yellow fever, Chikungunya, Zika virus disease, blood and transplant associated arboviral infections, and tick-borne arboviral diseases.Her past work experiences includes bacterial zoonotic diseases at the CDC, vaccine development in industry, and clinical work in pediatric infectious diseases.Dr Staples has both a medical degree and a doctoral degree in microbiology and immunology and she has published on a variety of subjects. Dr Pedro Fernando da Costa VasconcelosHead, Department of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Director, National Reference Laboratory for Arboviruses, Director, National Institute for Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers, Ananindeua, Brazil Dr Pedro Fernando da Costa Vasconcelos is Head of the Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia para Febres Hemorrágicas Virais-INCT-FHV (Brazil's National Institute of Science and Technology for Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers), located at the headquarters of the Instituto Evandro Chagas (IEC), Brazil's Ministry of Health, in Ananindeua, Pará state.He is a member of Department of Arbovirology and Haemorrhagic Fevers at the Evandro Chagas Institute (IEC). He was Head of Department from 1998 to 2014, and Director of IEC from 2014 to 2015.Dr Vasconcelos is also a fellow researcher of Brazil's Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq – National Council for Scientific and Technological Development); and Director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Arbovirus Reference and Research at the IEC. He completed his medical degree at the Medical School of the Universidade Federal do Pará, in Belém, and pursued a specialty in tropical medicine at Universidade de São Paulo.Dr Vasconcelos received a PhD from Universidade Federal da Bahia, in Salvador, and completed his post-doctoral studies in Molecular Virology in the Department of Pathology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, in Galveston (USA). He is a member of the editorial boards of three scientific journals: Revista Pan-Amazônica de Saúde (and an Associate Editor for the Virology area); Open Epidemiology Journal; and Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. 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niman Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 From: <[email protected]>Date: March 8, 2016 at 5:04:54 AM ESTTo: undisclosed-recipients:;Subject: WHO Media Advisory: INVITATION TO A VIRTUAL PRESS CONFERENCE WHO Media Advisory8 March 2016 INVITATION TO A VIRTUAL PRESS CONFERENCE Second Meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committeeconcerning Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations On Tuesday, 8 March 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) is convening the Emergency Committee (EC) on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) for the second time. The EC is being convened five weeks after its first meeting due to the growing strength of evidence about Zika and the virus’s association with microcephaly and Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). The EC will be reviewing the implementation of recommendations made as part of the declaration of a Public Health Event of International Concern (PHEIC) and their impact on the emergency. The committee will also consider, in light of substantial new information since their previous meeting, whether precautionary measures included in the PHEIC should be strengthened or modified. The meeting will be held by teleconference. A briefing for the media will follow the Emergency Committee and a WHO statement, giving an account of the meeting and its conclusions, will be posted on the WHO public website and sent to the media. WHAT: Second meeting of the Zika Virus Infection and Possible Neurological Complications Emergency Committee WHEN: EC begins at 8 March 2016 at 13h00 FOR JOURNALISTS: A press briefing will be held at approximately 19h00 on 8 March in the Library Room at WHO Headquarters. The briefing will be given by Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, and Dr David Heymann, Chair of the Emergency Committee Journalists will also be able to dial into the briefing. Phone-in details are below. Additional links on IHR Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations Emergency Committee Statementhttp://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2016/1st-emergency-committee-zika/en/ WHO Director-General summarizes the outcome of the Emergency Committee regarding clusters of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndromehttp://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2016/emergency-committee-zika-microcephaly/en/ Emergency committee members and advisershttp://www.who.int/ihr/emergency-committee-zika/en/ Media contacts: Gregory Härtl, Telephone: +41 22 791 4458; Mobile: +41 79 203 6715; e-mail: [email protected]Christian Lindmeier, Telephone: +41 22 791 1948; Mobile: +41 79 500 6552; email: [email protected]Fadela Chaib, Telephone: +41 22 791 3228; Mobile: +41 79 475 5556; email: [email protected]Media hotline: +41.22.791.2222 or E-mail: [email protected] All WHO information can be found at: www.who.int =============================================================== Please try to call in at least 10 minutes before the conference begins in order to be registered correctly. From the list below, please use the number closest to you. If you have problems with a number, try the toll number from a neighbouring country or call Switzerland: +41 22 580 5970, or France +33 1 70750705, or United States +1 855 402 7766. You can also use a VoIP programme such as Skype to call the US toll-free: +1 855 402 7766 On connecting, type PIN code: 55316208# on your telephone keypad and then record your name and media outlet and then press again the #key. To ask a question during the question and answer session, registered participants should type 01 on their telephone keypad, this will place you in the queue to ask questions. International access numbers COUNTRYTOLL-FREETOLLArgentina +541152526531Australia1800145776 +61291011917Austria0800301051(EN)0800301052(DE)+4319280492 (EN)+4319280494 (DE) Belgium +3211500307Brazil +551138788007Bulgaria080011051 Canada +14162164186Chile +56226188244China 4006815483*Croatia08003310 Czech Rep +420225439711Denmark80250175 +4535445572Ecuador1800100776 +3726868836Estonia8000111813 Finland0800523161 +358981710496France 0805110449 +33170750705Germany (Frankfurt) 08006270715 +4969222229043(EN)+4969222229044(DE)Hong Kong800930759 +85230773565Hungary +3612354718Iceland 8007415 India +912261875155Ireland1800931377 +35314475417Italy800098340 +390236013806Israel1809213412+97237207689Japan08008050678 +81344556490Latvia80205362 Luxembourg80040184 +35227300157Malaysia 1800816893+60320531818Mexico 018002822715 Netherlands +31107137273Norway80051299 +4723500249Peru +5117075734Poland008001214533 +48225839013Romania +40216550889Russia88005009248 +74956469303Saudi Arabia 8008143582 Serbia0800190262 Singapore8001205970 +6564298337Slovakia0800002122+421250112034Slovenia080081454 South Africa +27216724108South Korea 00308123559 Spain800099831 +34911140084Sweden0200883629+46850556469Switzerland0800005200+41225805970 (EN)+41225805971 (DE)Thailand0018008525074 Turkey +902123755118UAE800035704060 United Kingdom +442030092452United States18554027766 Useful links: List of the experts on the Emergency Committee can be found at: http://wwwwho.int/ihr/procedures/zika-ec-members/en/ Information about Zika is available at: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/zika/en/Information about Zika and pregnancy can be found on the PAHO website: www.paho.org http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11585&Itemid=41688&lang=en More information about IHR and Emergency Committee can be found:http://www.who.int/ihr/procedures/en_ihr_ec_faq.pdf?ua=1 Media contacts: Gregory Härtl, Coordinator, News, Social Media and Monitoring, Tel: +41 22 791 4458, Mobile: +41 79 203 67 15; E-mail: [email protected]Christian Lindmeier, Tel: +41 22 791 1948; Mobile: +41 79 500 65 52; E-mail: [email protected]Tarik Jašarević: Tel: +41 22 791 5099; Mobile: +41 79 367 62 14; E-mail: [email protected]Fadéla Chaib: Tel:+ 41 22 791 3228; Mobile: + 41794755556; E-mail: [email protected]Media hotline: +41.22.791.2222 or E-mail: [email protected] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niman Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) Transcript and audio files will be available at http://www.who.int/mediacentre Edited March 8, 2016 by niman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niman Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Zika virus: WHO emergency committee meets to review precautionsExperts consider whether precautionary measures 'should be strengthened or modified'CBC News Posted: Mar 08, 2016 12:28 PM ET Last Updated: Mar 08, 2016 12:57 PM ET Play Media WHO Emergency Committee on Zika outbreak news conference LIVE 11:59:597 shares Facebook Twitter Reddit Google Share Email Related Stories20 Canadians, including pregnant woman, infected by Zika in other countriesThe World Health Organization's emergency committee for the Zika virus met today to consider strengthening its precautionary advise to travellers over the Zika virus. Experts have been reviewing scientific evidence to guide public health recommendations since WHO declared a public health emergency last month, saying the virus's association is "guilty until proven innnocent" for the birth defect microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare disorder of muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. Zika virus: What you need to know20 Canadians, including pregnant woman, infected by Zika in other countriesZika virus outbreak an emergency, World Health Organization says The United Nations public health authority will hold a press conference Tuesday on the latest data on the link between the Zika outbreak in Latin America and neurological conditions, travel recommendations, trade and advice for pregnant women.CBC News will carry WHO's news conference live. The committee is considering whether precautionary measures "should be strengthened or modified," WHO said in a release. World Health Organization director general Dr. Margaret Chan declared the Zika virus's associations with microcephaly and other neurological complications a public health emergency in February. (Pierre Albouy/Reuters)Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO's director general, and Dr. David Heymann, chair of the emergency committee, are to give a summary of the meeting and its conclusions.Currently, WHO advises all travellers, including pregnant women, going to areas with locally acquired Zika infections to follow standard precautions to avoid mosquito bites:Use insect repellent.Cover up with clothing.Use screen barriers and bed nets to fend off the day-biting mosquitoes.Eliminate potential mosquito breeding sites. Until more is known about the risk of sexual transmission, WHO also advises all men and women returning from an area where Zika is circulating — especially pregnant women and their partners — to practice safe sex, including through the correct and consistent use of condoms.Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Gregory Taylor, told a Commons committee on Monday that 20 Canadians, including a pregnant woman, have tested positive for the Zika virus. The infections all occurred while visiting countries with outbreaks.There are no known instances of Canadians being infected while in Canada.Canadian authorities advise women wishing to become pregnant to wait two to three months after their return from an affected area before trying to conceive. The precautionary measure is based on current information on the incubation period and uncertainty about how long the virus remains present in body.http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/zika-who-1.3480937 Similarly, anyone who has travelled to a country with Zika must wait 21 days after returning to Canada before donating blood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niman Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 WHO statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR(2005)) Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations8 March 2016The second meeting of the Emergency Committee (EC) convened by the Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR 2005) regarding clusters of microcephaly cases and other neurological disorders in some areas affected by Zika virus was held by teleconference on 8 March 2016, from 13:00 to 16:45 Central European Time.The WHO Secretariat briefed the Committee on action in implementing the Temporary Recommendations issued by the Director-General on 1 February 2016, and on clusters of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) that have had a temporal association with Zika virus transmission. The Committee was provided with additional data from observational, comparative and experimental studies on the possible causal association between Zika virus infection, microcephaly and GBS. The following States Parties provided information on microcephaly, GBS and other neurological disorders occurring in the presence of Zika virus transmission: Brazil, Cabo Verde, Colombia, France, and the United States of America.The Committee noted the new information from States Parties and academic institutions in terms of case reports, case series, 1 case control study (GBS) and 1 cohort study (microcephaly) on congenital abnormalities and neurologic disease in the presence of Zika virus infection. It reinforced the need for further work to generate additional evidence on this association and to understand any inconsistencies in data from countries. The Committee advised that the clusters of microcephaly cases and other neurological disorders continue to constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), and that there is increasing evidence that there is a causal relationship with Zika virus.The Committee provided the following advice to the Director-General for her consideration to address the PHEIC, in accordance with IHR (2005). Microcephaly, other neurological disorders and Zika virusResearch into the relationship between new clusters of microcephaly, other neurological disorders, including GBS, and Zika virus, should be intensified,Particular attention should be given to generating additional data on the genetic sequences and clinical effect of different Zika virus strains, studying the neuropathology of microcephaly, conducting additional case-control and cohort studies in other and more recently infected settings, and developing animal models for experimental studies, Research on the natural history of Zika virus infection should be expedited, including on the rates of asymptomatic infection, the implications of asymptomatic infection, particularly with respect to pregnancy, and the persistence of virus excretion,Retrospective and prospective studies of the rates of microcephaly and other neurological disorders should be conducted in other areas known to have had Zika virus transmission but where such clusters were not observed,Research should continue to explore the possibility of other causative factors or co-factors for the observed clusters of microcephaly and other neurological disorders,To facilitate this research and ensure the most rapid results:surveillance for microcephaly and GBS should be standardized and enhanced, particularly in areas of known Zika virus transmission and areas at risk,work should begin on the development of a potential case definition for ‘congenital Zika infection’,clinical, virologic and epidemiologic data related to the increased rates of microcephaly and/or GBS, and Zika virus transmission, should be rapidly shared with the World Health Organization to facilitate international understanding of the these events, to guide international support for control efforts, and to prioritize further research and product development. SurveillanceSurveillance for and notification of Zika virus infection should be enhanced with the dissemination of standard case definitions and diagnostics to areas of transmission and at-risk areas; newly infected areas should undertake the vector control measures outlined below. Vector ControlVector surveillance, including the determination of mosquito vector species and their sensitivity to insecticides, should be enhanced to strengthen risk assessments and vector control measures,Vector control measures and appropriate personal protective measures should be aggressively promoted and implemented to reduce the risk of exposure to Zika virus,Countries should strengthen vector control measures in the long term and the Director-General of WHO should explore the use of IHR mechanisms, and consider bringing this to a forthcoming World Health Assembly, as means to better engage countries on this issue. Risk CommunicationsRisk communications should be enhanced in countries with Zika virus transmission to address population concerns, enhance community engagement, improve reporting, and ensure application of vector control and personal protective measures,These measures should be based on an appropriate assessment of public perception, knowledge and information; the impact of risk communication measures should be rigorously evaluated to guide their adaptation and improve their impact,Attention should be given to ensuring women of childbearing age and particularly pregnant women have the necessary information and materials to reduce risk of exposure,Information on the risk of sexual transmission, and measures to reduce that risk, should be available to people living in and returning from areas of reported Zika virus transmission. Clinical CarePregnant women who have been exposed to Zika virus should be counselled and followed for birth outcomes based on the best available information and national practice and policies,In areas of known Zika virus transmission, health services should be prepared for potential increases in neurological syndromes and/or congenital malformations. Travel MeasuresThere should be no general restrictions on travel or trade with countries, areas and/or territories with Zika virus transmission,Pregnant women should be advised not travel to areas of ongoing Zika virus outbreaks; pregnant women whose sexual partners live in or travel to areas with Zika virus outbreaks should ensure safe sexual practices or abstain from sex for the duration of their pregnancy,Travellers to areas with Zika virus outbreaks should be provided with up to date advice on potential risks and appropriate measures to reduce the possibility of exposure to mosquito bites and, upon return, should take appropriate measures, including safe sex, to reduce the risk of onward transmission,The World Health Organization should regularly update its guidance on travel with evolving information on the nature and duration of risks associated with Zika virus infection,Standard WHO recommendations regarding vector control at airports should be implemented in keeping with the IHR (2005). Countries should consider the disinsection of aircraft. Research The development of new diagnostics for Zika virus infection should be prioritized to facilitate surveillance and control measures, and especially the management of pregnancy,Research, development and evaluation of novel vector control measures should be pursued with particular urgency,Research and development efforts should also be intensified for Zika virus vaccines and therapeutics in the medium term. Based on this advice the Director-General declared the continuation of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The Director-General endorsed the Committee’s advice and issued them as Temporary Recommendations under IHR (2005). The Director-General thanked the Committee Members and Advisors for their advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niman Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Zika/Neurological Syndromes Emergency CommitteeStatement by WHO Director-Gneral Dr Margaret Chan to the media Ladies and gentlemen, Since this emergency committee on Zika virus first met on 1 February, substantial new clinical and epidemiological research has strengthened the association between Zika infection and the occurrence of fetal malformations and neurological disorders. In addition, the geographical distribution of the disease is wider. The risk group is broader. And the modes of transmission now include sexual intercourse as well as mosquito bites. Local transmission has now been reported in 31 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean. In this region, cases of dengue, which is carried by the same mosquito species as Zika, typically increase during the rainy season, which lasts from January to May. We can expect to see more cases and further geographical spread. Imported cases of Zika have been reported from every region in the world. Concerning the link with fetal malformations, the virus has been detected in amniotic fluid. Evidence shows it can cross the placental barrier and infect the fetus. We can now conclude that Zika virus is neurotropic, preferentially affecting tissues in the brain and brain stem of the developing fetus. Zika has been detected in the blood, brain tissue, and cerebrospinal fluid of foetuses following miscarriage, stillbirth, or termination of pregnancy. Microcephaly is now only one of several documented birth abnormalities associated with Zika infection during pregnancy. Grave outcomes include fetal death, placental insufficiency, fetal growth retardation, and injury to the central nervous system. To date, microcephaly has been documented in only two countries: French Polynesia and Brazil. However, intense surveillance for fetal abnormalities is currently under way in countries, like Colombia, where the outbreaks started later than in Brazil. Nine countries are now reporting an increased incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome or laboratory confirmation of a Zika virus infection among GBS cases. A retrospective case-control study of GBS associated with Zika in French Polynesia recorded no deaths, but the disease progressed rapidly and a large percentage of patients required admission to an intensive care unit for as long as 51 days. Growing evidence of a link with GBS expands the group at risk of complications well beyond women of child-bearing age. GBS has been detected in children and adolescents but is more common in older adults and slightly more common in men. The anticipated need for expanded intensive care adds a further burden on health systems. Reports and investigations from several countries strongly suggest that sexual transmission of the virus is more common than previously assumed. All of this news is alarming. Women who are pregnant in affected countries or travel to these countries are understandably deeply worried. I convened this second meeting of the Emergency Committee to gather expert advice on the strength and significance of these new research results. We also asked the experts whether the findings warrant changes in WHO recommendations to countries. The Committee underscored the increasing strength of evidence showing a likely association between Zika infection and fetal malformations and neurological disorders. At the same time, the experts pinpointed the types of studies needed to establish a causal relationship, but stressed their view that strong public health actions should not wait for definitive scientific proof. I will now ask Dr David Heymann, the Chair of the Emergency Committee, to brief you on specific recommendations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted March 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Dear journalists,Please find here the audio file from the media briefing on IHR Review Committee on Zika virus and neurological syndromes.You can also watch the recording of the live broadcast of the briefing via Facebook Live or PeriscopeBest regards,WHO Media team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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