Organization: Guardian
Registration deadline: 18 Feb 2016
Starting date: 18 Feb 2016
Ending date: 18 Feb 2016
Join a panel of experts this Thursday 18 February from 1pm GMT to discuss how the international community can address the Zika epidemic
For the expectant mothers of Recife, in Pernambuco state Brazil, the city at the heart of the Zika virus epidemic, trips to the hospital to check on their unborn children have become an ordeal.
A third of Brazil’s 3,893 Zika virus cases recorded by January 2020 have been found in Pernambuco. The mosquito-born disease causes fever, joint pain and rashes, as well as microcephaly, a condition which affects brain development and head size of babies.
Recife resident Gleyse Kelly told the Guardian last month that she had discovered that her unborn daughter had an abnormally small head when she was seven months pregnant. “It was devastating,” she said. “But we had no time to react.” Her daughter Maria was born the next day.
The Zika virus was declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organisation on 1 February.
Across Latin America, governments have reacted to the virus with dramatic measures. In El Salvador, a country with restrictive laws on abortion, the government told its citizens to avoid getting pregnant until 2018.
Now as the virus spreads to the US and Europe, a sense of urgency has grown in the international community. Pharmaceutical companies are reportedly working to develop a vaccine.
Elsewhere, scientists have been searching for an answer to why the virus was able to spread so far, so quickly; with some pointing to the impact of climate change. In 2014, only 150 cases were recorded in the whole of Brazil.
How do we overcome this disease? Would it help to swamp Zika-infected areas with pesticides, or would that make things worse? Should we simply look toeradicate mosquitos altogether?
Join a panel of experts on Thursday 18 February from 1pm GMT to discuss these questions and more.
Panel TBA
How to register:
No registration required
