Experts Working ‘Round the Clock’ to Unlock Zika Cure –WHO Exec
By RIE TAKUMI, GMA News
Researchers are working to profile the Zika virus and its links to the birth malformations and neurological syndromes on infants in outbreak areas in South America, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said Wednesday.
Eloi Yao, WHO’s public information officer, said scientists are considering all the facts to establish solid information on the mosquito-borne virus, which has infected over 4,000 people in South America.
“The experts are working around the clock, sharing data and comparing studies so that they can be able to establish and confirm some of the effects,” Yao said at a press briefing.
He said the research is being conducted “through testing and analyzing the main vector,” or the biting insect that transmits the disease.
“If you have observed during the news, you can see people in the laboratory analyzing different types of mosquitos collected from the forest and the environment to see what kind of characteristics there is,” Yao said.
The research also aims to establish differences between Zika and dengue as both have similar symptoms.
“As studies go on, I think experts will be able to identify the characteristics and see how they can establish some differences between those two,” Yao said.
Mothers’ vulnerability remains speculative
Though most reports on Zika seemingly focus on mothers, the WHO stated that it has yet to establish a solid link between the virus and birth malformations and neurological syndromes on infants.
“However, a causal link cannot be ruled out with the current evidence available,” the WHO stated in a document dated January 29.
It said “various environmental and genetic factors” can cause microencephaly and other diseases attributed to the Zika virus, including “exposure to drugs, alcohol or toxins such as heavy metals and radiation in the womb; and rubella infection during pregnancy.”
What is truly alarming about the number of pregnant women and infants affected by the virus, Yao said, is the scale of the cases.
“Further studies are needed to make all this association and confirmation,” he said.
Other means of infection
As for other means of infection, infections through blood transfusions are becoming more infrequent and mosquitos remain the main vector of infections, Yao said.
However, researchers are looking into cases where Zika was allegedly passed to the uninfected through sexual contact.
“There are still ongoing investigation to establish all the facts. There is a strong possibility… They are making the assumption that there may be a correlation between the transmission sexually,” he said.
Though details remain scarce, a possible vaccine may undergo a trial run within six months, Yao said.
“The experts are saying that in three or six months there can be some trial, and then from there, they’ll determine when exactly there will be a vaccine,” he said. —KBK, GMA News