Zika virus [to 19 March 2016]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
http://www.who.int/emergencies/zika-virus/en/

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Zika virus, Microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome – 17 March 2016
WHO Situation Report: Read the full situation report
Summary
:: From 1 January 2007 to 16 March 2016, Zika virus transmission was documented in a total of 59 countries and territories. Cuba and Dominica are the latest to report autochthonous (local) transmission of Zika virus on 14 and 15 March, respectively. Five of these countries and territories reported a Zika virus outbreak that is now over. Three countries (France, Italy and United States of America) have reported locally acquired infection in the absence of any known mosquito vectors, probably through sexual transmission.

:: The geographical distribution of Zika virus has steadily widened since the virus was first detected in the Americas in 2014. Autochthonous Zika virus transmission has been reported in 33 countries and territories of this region.

:: So far an increase in microcephaly and other fetal malformations has been reported in Brazil and French Polynesia, although two additional cases linked to a stay in Brazil were detected in the United States of America and Slovenia.

:: In the context of Zika virus circulation 12 countries or territories have reported an increased incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and/or laboratory confirmation of a Zika virus infection among GBS cases.

:: The mounting evidence from observational, cohort and case-control studies indicates that Zika virus is highly likely to be a cause of microcephaly, GBS and other neurologic disorders. Among the tasks ahead are to further quantify the risk of neurologic disorders following Zika virus infection, and to investigate the biological mechanisms that lead to neurologic disorders.

:: The global prevention and control strategy launched by WHO as a Strategic Response Framework encompasses surveillance, response activities and research, and this situation report is organized under those headings.

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WHO supports Cabo Verde in managing Zika virus
18 March 2016 — Although the number of cases of Zika in Cabo Verde is declining, the Minister of Health announced on 15 March the first case of microcephaly. Investigations are underway to determine if this case of microcephaly is linked to Cabo Verde’s outbreak of Zika virus. Responding to a request from the Ministry of Health in Cabo Verde, WHO is sending a team to the country.
Read the note to the media

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Latest updates
:: Mosquito control works if implemented well; new control tools in the pipeline
18 March 2016
:: Damn the mosquitoes! Full speed ahead!
15 March 2016

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Guidance for health workers
:: Entomological surveillance for Aedes spp.
15 March 2016

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Zika Open
[Bulletin of the World Health Organization]
:: All papers available here
Posted: 14 March 2016
Detection of immunoglobulin G responses in Haitian children exposed to chikungunya, dengue, and malaria using a multiplex bead assay
– Mathieu JP Poirier, Delynn M Moss, Karla R Feeser, Thomas G Streit, Gwong-Jen J Chang, Matthew Whitney, Brandy J Russell, Barbara W Johnson, Alison J Basile, Christin H Goodman, Amanda K Barry, & Patrick J Lammie
http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.16.173252

Posted: 16 March 2016
Evolution of cases of microcephaly and neurological abnormalities suggestive of congenital infection in Brazil: 2015-2016
– Antonio JLA Cunha, Maria Clara Magalhães-Barbosa, Fernanda Lima-Setta & Arnaldo Prata-Barbosa
http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.16.173583

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CDC/ACIP [to 19 March 2016]
http://www.cdc.gov/media/index.html
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016
CDC adds Cuba to interim travel guidance related to Zika virus
CDC is working with other public health officials to monitor for ongoing Zika virus transmission. Today, CDC posted a Zika virus travel notice for Cuba…

FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016
New CDC Laboratory Test for Zika Virus Authorized for Emergency Use by FDA
In response to a request from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Trioplex Real-time RT-PCR Assay, a diagnostic tool for Zika virus that will be distributed to qualified laboratories. The assay allows doctors to tell if an individual is currently infected with chikungunya, dengue, or Zika using one test, instead of having to perform three separate tests to determine which infection one might have…

MMWR – March 18, 2016 / Vol. 65 / No. 10
:: Revision to CDC’s Zika Travel Notices: Minimal Likelihood for Mosquito-Borne Zika Virus Transmission at Elevations Above 2,000 Meters

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EU supports Zika research with €10 million
European Commission – Press release Brussels, 15 March 2016
The European Commission is today releasing €10 million for research on the Zika virus, currently affecting large parts of Latin America.

The most affected country is Brazil, where the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared that the recent cluster of severe brain malformations in new-borns may be linked to the virus. While the risk of transmission of the Zika virus in the EU is low, there is currently no treatment or vaccine against the virus, and diagnostic tests for infections are not widely available.

The funding, which comes from the Horizon 2020 EU research and innovation funding programme, will go into projects that will first have to prove the link between the virus and severe brain malformations reported in newborn children. If proven, researchers could then move on to combatting the Zika virus, including developing diagnostics and testing potential treatments or vaccines…