WHO warns that Zika virus has the potential to spread to many countries around the world, especially in Africa, Asia and even Europe.

Health ministers from 14 Latin American countries met yesterday in Montevideo, Uruguay, to discuss ways to strengthen coordination in combating the rapid spread of the Zika virus in the region. Meanwhile, scientists in Brazil are also conducting in-depth research on the impact of the Zika virus, especially on pregnant women and newborns.

The Aedes Aegypti mosquito is the main agent in spreading the Zika virus. (Photo: AFP)

Speaking at the opening of the conference urgently convened by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Uruguayan Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa called on Latin American governments to take more urgent and effective measures to deal with the Zika virus epidemic. He called on the authorities to intensify the communication campaign to raise public awareness about the Zika virus, contributing to preventing the spread of this dangerous disease.

Meanwhile, Pan American Health Organization (OPS) Director Carissa Etienne announced that the organization will allocate 8.5 million USD to countries in the region to prevent Zika virus. Ms. Etienne also expressed concern about the possibility of a link between Zika virus and congenital brain microcephaly in fetuses when pregnant mothers are sick, and emphasized that it is difficult to determine the exact number of patients infected with Zika virus because 1 in 4 patients do not have any symptoms of the disease. Currently, there are about 1.5 million people infected in the Americas.

To date, medical experts have not yet determined the full consequences of the Zika virus on pregnant women and newborns. Currently, experts in Brazil are conducting research and collecting relevant data to determine the possibility of a newborn being affected by the Zika virus even if the mother was cured of the disease before pregnancy.

“We are studying whether a woman who has been cured of Zika virus before becoming pregnant will have a baby affected by the virus,” said Paolo Zanotto, a Zika virus researcher at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil.

“We still don’t have the results of the research. And we don’t know if it’s possible to get infected. So we still need to develop a vaccine. It’s possible that a mother infected with Zika virus will not affect her baby, but that’s just a possibility.”

WHO has warned that the Zika virus is likely to spread to many countries around the world, especially Africa and Asia. Even Europe needs to be on guard against this possibility. There is currently no vaccine against the Zika virus, however, the Indian biotechnology company Bharat Biotech said that they are preparing two lines of vaccines against the Zika virus.

Bharat Biotech Chairman and Managing Director Professor Krishna Ella said they started working on a Zika vaccine a year ago, while they were working on a dengue vaccine. Zika virus is closely related to dengue because both are transmitted by mosquitoes.

“We are working on two vaccines and have registered them since July 2015. We have also filed for a patent. This is probably the first vaccine globally to be filed for a patent in July 2015, as no one has filed before. We are seeking government assistance. We do not need funding, but we need help in strategic matters and clinical trials. If there is support, the development of the vaccine can be accelerated,” said Professor Krishna Ella.

Professor Ella said that next month the company will test the Zika virus vaccine they are researching on animals. Clinical trials will follow. If successful, it will open up hope of preventing the Zika virus, a dangerous virus that causes birth defects worldwide./.

According to VOV