Concerns Over Zika Turning into a Global Epidemic

New research in Brazil indicates that two cases of Zika virus infection occurred through blood transfusion. According to this research, blood transfusions from individuals who were previously carriers of the Zika virus have led to the spread of the disease. Meanwhile, the first case of Zika virus infection in Europe has been observed in a pregnant Spanish woman who recently returned from Latin America. So far, cases of Zika infection have been reported in 26 countries. The World Health Organization declared an international emergency on Monday, February 1, following the spread of this virus in Central and South America. Recently, the World Health Organization has predicted that in the coming year, three to four million people in South America alone will contract the virus. This virus causes babies born to infected pregnant women to have significantly smaller skulls and also leads to brain complications. Dr. Javad Aman, a virology specialist at the 'IBT' pharmaceutical company in Washington, stated in an interview with Radio Farda that no drug or vaccine has yet been found to combat this virus as it has not received much attention previously. He expresses concern that Zika may become a global epidemic, which is why the World Health Organization has declared an international emergency.