IFIC appeals for aid to fight Zika Virus
Geneva, Feb 2 (KUNA)—International Federation of The Red Cross and Red Crescents Societies (IFRC) has launched an emergency appeal for USD2.3 million to support the regional response to the zika virus outbreak in America.
"The current Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak is alarming due to the high number of cases, the rapid spread of disease and its optional association with an increase in the birth of babies with microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome," said the IFRC in a press release from its Headquarters in Geneva.
As is the case with dengue or chikungunya – transmitted by the same Aedes Aegypt mosquito – Zika virus affects all segments of society but has particular impact on the poorest and most vulnerable people.
"The only way to stop Zika virus disease is to control the mosquito vectors or completely interrupt the human –to – vector contact, and do so alongside measures to reduce poverty, "said Water Cotte, Director of the IFRC Americas Region.
"A long-term engagement with the community at risk is the key. Grassroots organizations at community level can contribute to sustained improvement of sanitation, reduction of mosquito breeding sites and increases level of knowledge on how to protect the community from Zika," he added.
Zika virus disease is named after the Zika forest in Uganda, where it was discovered in 1947 –first in a monkey, and then in the Aedes mosquito the following year.
The first human case was recorded in Nigeria in 1952. South America reported its first case of Zika in 2015. There are two strains of the virus-the African lineage, which emerged from Uganda, and the Asian linage that is spreading in the Americans and the pacific.