WHO News

Zika situation report12 February 2016http://www.who.int/emergencies/zika-virus/situation-report/12-february-2016/en/

Zika virus diseaseInterim case definition 12 February 2015 http://who.int/csr/disease/zika/case-definition/en/

Zika papers shared at Zika Open http://www.who.int/bulletin/online_first/zika_open/en/

On 21 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point of Angola notified WHO of an outbreak of yellow fever. The first cases were identified in the district of Viana (Luanda province) on 5 December 2015. Yellow fever infection was initially confirmed in three patients by polymerase chain reaction at the Zoonosis and Emerging Disease Laboratory of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in Johannesburg, South Africa and at the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal. View the full article

Information for travellers visiting Zika affected countriesUpdated 12 February 2016 Travellers should stay informed about Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases and consult their local health or travel authorities if they are concerned. Based on available evidence, WHO is not recommending any travel or trade restrictions related to Zika virus disease. Countries reporting sporadic Zika infections in travellers arriving from affected countries pose little, if any, risk of onward transmission. As a precautionary measure, some national governments may make public health and travel recommendations to their own populations, based on their assessment of the available evid…

On 16 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point for the United States of America notified PAHO/WHO of a male infant with microcephaly born in the state of Hawaii in December. The mother of the child experienced symptoms compatible with Zika virus infection during her second month of pregnancy, while residing in Brazil; however, at the time, testing for the infection was not performed.View the full article

On 5 February 2016, the National IHR Focal Point for the United States of America notified PAHO/WHO of a probable case of sexual transmission of Zika virus. Person A, a resident of Dallas, Texas, travelled to Venezuela for one week between late December and the beginning of January. Several days after returning to the United States, Person A developed symptoms consistent with Zika virus infection, including fever, rash, conjunctivitis, and malaise. One day prior to symptom onset and once during the symptomatic period, Person A had sex with Person B (non-traveller). Approximately one week after the onset of illness in Person A, Person B developed symptoms consistent with …

Between 30 January and 2 February 2016, the National IHR Focal Points of Colombia and Venezuela informed PAHO/WHO of increases in the number of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) cases recorded at the national level. From epidemiological week (EW) 51 of 2015 to EW 3 of 2016, 86 GBS cases were reported. On average, Colombia registers 242 GBS cases per year or approximately 19 cases per month or 5 cases per week. The 86 GBS cases reported in those 5 weeks is three times higher than the averaged expected cases of the 6 previous years.View the full article

On 5 February 2016, the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) of China notified WHO of 28 additional laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A (H7N9) virus, including five deaths. Onset dates ranged from 21 December 2015 to 25 January 2016. Cases ranged in age from 14 to 91 years, with a median age of 58 years. Of these 28 cases, 18 (64%) were male. The majority (25 cases, 89%) reported exposure to live poultry or live poultry markets; the exposure history of three cases is unknown or no clear exposure to poultry. No clusters were reported. Cases were reported from six provinces and municipalities: Zhejiang (13), Jiangsu (5), …

On 25 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point of France notified PAHO/WHO of 2 cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in Martinique. At present, available information is insufficient to interpret the observed differences in GBS incidence globally and among Brazilian states. The potential cause of the reported increase of GBS incidence in certain Brazilian states remains unknown. Case-control studies are ongoing to determine the cause of the increase. These studies may provide evidence that corroborates or disproves a causal relationship between Zika virus, GBS and other congenital malformations. WHO continues to monitor the epidemiological situation and conduct risk …

On 22 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point of Brazil notified PAHO/WHO of an increase of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) recorded at the national level. Data from the hospital-based surveillance system reveal that, between January and November 2015, 1,708 cases of GBS were registered nationwide. While a number of states reported significant increases in reported cases – especially, Alagoas (516.7%), Bahia (196.1%), Rio Grande do Norte (108.7%), Piauí (108.3%), Espirito Santo (78.6%), and Rio de Janeiro (60.9%) – other states reported stable or even diminishing number of GBS cases as compared to 2014. Most of the states in Brazil are experiencing the circulation of Z…

WHO involvement in Zika R&D 8 February 2016 WHO is currently mapping existing R&D for Zika in order to prioritize medical products and approaches that should be fast-tracked into development. These will be reviewed by expert advisory committees as soon as possible. As of today, most research that could be useful for Zika has been carried out on other flaviviruses – such as dengue or yellow fever. Diagnostics are a top urgency in order to ascertain the presence of the Zika virus as opposed to other similar diseases caused by flaviviruses with mosquito vectors. Very few test are available. A call to interested companies and other groups was issued on 5 February to s…

On 7 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point of Maldives notified WHO of a case of Zika virus infection with onset of symptoms in June 2015, in a patient returning from Finland. The patient is a 37-year-old Finnish male who returned to Finland on 16 June 2015 after spending several months in the Maldives. On 18 June, the patient developed symptoms (mild fever and rash on the face and trunk, as well as eye pain and arthralgia); however, after a few days, these subsided. View the full article

Between 27 and 30 January 2016, PAHO/WHO was notified of cases of Zika virus infection in Costa Rica, Curaçao, Jamaica and Nicaragua. On 27 January, the National IHR Focal Point of the United States reported of a case of Zika virus infection in a patient returning from Costa Rica.View the full article

WHO Declares Zika A Public Health Emergency of International Concern

Between 22 and 27 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 5 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. Contact tracing of household and healthcare contacts is ongoing for these cases.View the full article

WHO to convene an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformationsWHO statement 28 January 2016 WHO Director-General, Margaret Chan, will convene an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations. The Committee will meet on Monday 1 February in Geneva to ascertain whether the outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Decisions concerning the Committee’s membership and advice will be made public on WHO’s website. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statemen…

On 25 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point for the United States of America notified PAHO/WHO of the first laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika virus infection in St. Croix, one of the three main islands in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). The USVI Department of Health received laboratory confirmation of the case on 22 January. The patient is a non-pregnant woman from USVI who reported the onset of fever, rash, conjunctivitis and arthralgia on 1 January. She had not travelled in the three weeks that preceded the onset of symptoms. A serum sample obtained from the patient on 8 January tested IgM positive at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.…

On 17 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point (NFP) of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) notified WHO of 2 additional cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (VDPV1). Both cases are from Longsane district, Xaisomboun Province. The first new case is a 14-month-old male from Longsane district, Xaisomboun Province. He developed fever on 16 November, progressing to hyporeflexia and asymmetric paralysis in both legs by 18 November. Local health authorities reported the AFP case on 19 November. Vaccination history indicated that the child had received three doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV). On 1 and 3 December, samples of the patient were collected and shipped to t…

On 24 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point of Thailand notified WHO of 1 laboratory-confirmed case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. This is the country’s second case of MERS-CoV infection (see DON published on 10 July 2015). The case is a 71-year-old Omani national who arrived in Bangkok, Thailand on 22 January. The patient travelled to Thailand to seek medical care. Once in Bangkok, the patient was admitted to hospital. On 23 January, he tested positive for MERS-CoV. View the full article

WHO director General issues update on Zika. http://who.int/dg/speeches/2016/zika-situation/en/

The National IHR Focal Point of Nigeria has notified WHO of different outbreaks of Lassa fever occurring in the country. Between August 2015 and 23 January 2016, 159 suspected cases of Lassa fever, including 82 deaths, were reported across 19 states. Investigations are ongoing and a retrospective review of cases is currently being performed; therefore, these figures are subject to change. View the full article

On 23 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point for the Dominican Republic notified PAHO/WHO of 10 laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika virus infection. Of the 10 cases, 8 are locally-acquired and 2 imported from El Salvador. The cases are from Distrito Nacional, and the municipalities of Santo Domingo Norte, Jimani-Independencia and Santa Cruz-Barahona. While 8 of the 10 cases are aged 15 to 57 years old, the remaining 2 cases are children under five years old. Onset of symptoms ranges from 3 to 18 January. All cases presented fever and rash; 8 of the 10 cases had conjunctivitis, 6 of the 10 cases experienced malaises, headache and arthralgia; and, 5 of the 10 cases rep…

Between 27 December 2015 and 13 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 4 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. Globally, since September 2012, WHO has been notified of 1,630 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including at least 586 related deaths.View the full article