Already reported in more than 30 countries, the Zika virus, which is mainly transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is sowing panic in the Americas and across the globe. According to the World Health Organization, which last month declared the virus outbreak “a global emergency” due to its link to a spike in the number of babies born with microcephaly, the virus could infect between 3 and 4 million people in the Americas alone this year. Is the panic justified?
Devex spoke to Food and Agriculture Organization Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo about her personal experience with the virus and FAO’s recommendations to minimize the threat by reducing the spread of the virus.
“I got the Zika virus when I was in Kenya last December, and it was just like a flu. I had malaria and it was much worse,” Semedo told Devex. “The main problem concerning Zika virus is how it affects pregnant women and their babies … In Cape Verde, we had 4,000 cases, and in this moment there are 140 pregnant women who are being monitored. Some of them gave birth and the kids weren’t microcephalus, yet the last research shows that there is indeed a correlation between Zika and babies’ microcephaly.”
About the author
Eva Donelli
As a correspondent based in Brussels, Eva Donelli covers EU development policy issues and actors, from the EU institutions to the international NGO community. Eva was previously at the United Nations Regional Information Center for Western Europe and in the European Parliament's press office. As a freelance reporter, she has contributed to Italian and international magazines covering a wide range of issues, including EU affairs, development policy, social protection and nuclear energy. She speaks fluent English, French and Spanish in addition to her native Italian.