According to the Austin American Statesman, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Friday that the mosquito-borne disease, Zika, is no longer considered a global health emergency. This is not saying the Zika is no longer a problem or dangerous, just that it should be considered along the lines of malaria and yellow fever. Like malaria and yellow fever, Zika should be treated as an ongoing problem, not as a temporary disease. Since it is a mosquito-borne disease, it will return seasonally as mosquitos do.
There are some people who consider removing Zika as a global health emergency to be a mistake. They believe it was premature, since summer is just beginning in the southern hemisphere. In other words, it is prime mosquito weather in the summer hemisphere. This may lead to more Zika cases in the southern hemisphere; thus, a reinstatement of the global health emergency may occur.
I am glad to know that it is not considered an emergency any longer, but I do wonder if it was premature. Hopefully since we have had so many cases of Zika in the past year, health officials will be more prepared for a possible outbreak to happen in the southern hemisphere. I am also glad to hear that they are acknowledging that this is not a disease that is just going to vanish. That way they are still maintaining efforts to better deal with the Zika virus, come up a cure for the disease, and come up with resources to help those who have been impacted by the Zika virus.
Zika scares me to death. Every summer I am eaten alive by mosquitoes. It's just always been that way. I wear bug spray and everything else in order to try to improve the problem but I always end up with those darn bug bites. Because of this I am terrified of what happens if I get pregnant one day. I think its okay that its not a global health emergency anymore but I wish there were still better options for protection against the disease. Hopefully research continues to lead to better solutions for the problem.
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