Brazil witnesses 10-fold Zika-linked microcephaly cases than average: WHO expert

An expert from World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said Brazil reported 10-fold Zika-linked microcephaly cases than average, following the UN health agency declared the cluster of microcephaly and other neurological disorders in relation to the Zika virus as public health emergency of international concern.

Antony Costello, Director from WHO Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Department, reinforced at a press conference that the public health emergency would not have been declared for the Zika virus itself (which was a milder virus than dengue and chikungunya), but because of the apparent association with a surge in the number of cases of microcephaly.

Since 2015, the Zika virus had spread rapidly and had been detected in 25 countries. At the same time, there had been a surge in cases of microcephaly particularly in northeastern Brazil.

Microcephaly was a relatively rare condition - affecting between one in three thousand and one in five thousand. The causes were known to be associated with infections in early pregnancy, exposure to toxins and heavy metals, genetic conditions like Down Syndrome, and occasionally, malnutrition.

According to WHO, nearly 4,200 cases had been reported as suspect in Brazil. Out of the 4,200 cases, a significant proportion would probably be discarded because the head was small for another reason.

"Still, the surge was evident. In Brazil, the average over the past five years until now had been 163 cases per year. Today, the increase could be as much as ten-fold," Costello said.

Following the WHO declaration, a global response unit had been set up, bringing together all people across WHO in headquarters and in the regions, to prepare a formal response using the lessons learned during the Ebola crisis.

WHO was calling on a group of experts together to standardize the definition of microcephaly and ensure accurate measures in all parts of the world.

An estimate of pre-Zika virus rates of microcephaly in low and middle income countries was necessary as well. Much more research was needed on the links between microcephaly and Zika virus, requiring the development of diagnostic tests.

Costello warned that even though the Zika virus itself was not life-threatening, the complications of the illness could be potentially devastating for families.

The potential for spread not just across Latin America, but into Africa and Asia, which had the highest birth rates in the world, was also a matter of public health concern, constituting an international emergency. Endit