Brazil: Zika virus national emergency ends May 11

Event

On Thursday, May 11, the Brazilian Ministry of Health announced that the state of emergency over the Zika virus is no longer in effect. Officials made the decision after a 95 percent drop in the number of cases was recorded between January and April, from 170,535 last year to 7911 cases during the same period this year. The World Health Organization (WHO) lifted its own international emergency in November 2016.

Context

Health officials declared the national emergency in November 2015, prompting a campaign to eradicate mosquitoes in a bid to stem the spread of the mosquito-borne illness.

While the Zika virus in itself is usually relatively benign (and asymptomatic in approximately 80 percent of cases), links between the Zika virus and the birth defect microcephaly (babies born with underdeveloped heads), as well as the potentially fatal neurological disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), have been established. Thousands of cases of Zika-linked microcephaly have been reported in the country. Zika virus can also be spread via sexual intercourse.

Advice

Individuals present in Brazil are advised to take measures to protect themselves from mosquito bites (e.g. by wearing covering clothing, using insect repellent, and sleeping in a screened-in or air conditioned room) and to eliminate possible mosquito breeding grounds (small pockets of fresh water, such as rain water that has collected in cans, bottles, tires, flower pots, clogged gutters, etc.).