16:16 | Montevideo (Uruguay), Feb. 03.
Latin American health authorities meet in Montevideo, Uruguay seeking a common strategy to fight the Zika virus all over the region, the most affected around the world, amidst a climate of social alarm triggered by a sexually transmitted virus case in the United States.
Representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela and Uruguay —Mercosur full members— and Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Suriname —its associate countries— are trying to find way to stop the spread of the virus, which has been linked to birth malformations such as microcephaly.
Other nations participating include Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Mexico. Also attending is Carissa Etienne, Director of the Pan American Health Organization—PAHO.
With isolated confirmed cases in Indonesia, Thailand, Cape Verde and risk of transmission across Asia, South America is the most affected region so far, including 1.5 million cases in Brazil and more than 20,000 in Colombia.
Since Zika was first detected there, Brazil has reported 3,670 suspected cases of microcephaly — when a child’s developing brain does not grow properly— of which 404 have been confirmed.
The World Health Organization—WHO announced Monday a public health emergency of international concern and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations.
(END) AFP/MPM/RMB/MVB
Published: 2/3/2016