Zika no longer Intl public health emergency: WHO

A warning sign for the Zika Virus against the flag of Italy. Virus initially spread by mozquitos.

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Zika virus and associated consequences remain a significant public health challenge requiring intense action, but they no longer represent a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

The new Zika status now puts it in the class of other dangerous mosquito-borne diseases, like malaria and yellow fever.

The WHO committee stressed the need for continued research into the disease. Zika has been linked to congenital and other neurological disorders, and many aspects are not clearly understood. In October 2015 Brazil reported an association between Zika virus infection and microcephaly – a disorder affecting pregnant women and new born babies.

Since WHO declared a state of emergency on February 1, Zika has mainly taken centre stage among pregnant women or those wanting to fall pregnant, causing many to defer travel plans to highly affected areas such as Central and South America, some parts of Asia like Singapore and even some US States.

Since 2015, 67 countries and territories reported evidence of vector-borne Zika virus transmission.

zika-timeline-13-october-2016

Latest News

  • Destinations
  • News

APT Launches 2025 Asia Adventures

APT has launched its Asia Adventures for 2025, including new luxury holidays in India, Sri Lanka and Japan. Five new tours lead guests to the highlights of India, including a seven-night cruise along the rarely travelled Lower Ganges aboard the Ganges Voyager. Further south, Sri Lanka’s greatest destinations are revealed on a new 15-day Land […]

  • Cruise
  • Luxury
  • News

Seabourn announces Western Kimberley Traditional Owners as Godparents of Seabourn Pursuit

Seabourn has named Western Kimberley Traditional Owners, the Wunambal Gaambera, as Godparents of the ultra-luxury purpose-built Seabourn Pursuit. It is the first cruise line to appoint Traditional Owners as godparents of a ship. Seabourn Pursuit embarks on its inaugural season in the Kimberley region this June. The naming ceremony will take place on Seabourn Pursuit’s […]

  • Luxury

Malolo Island Resort opens brand new Spa

Fiji’s Malolo Island has added another string to its bow – opening its $1.3 million day spa on Thursday, 18th April 2024. (Lead Image: matriarch Rosie Whitton with spa staff) Located at the edge of the resort’s luscious patch of tropical rainforest, the new “Leilani’s Spa” adds another level of elevated experiences to Malolo’s already […]