Zika virus declared a global emergency; local officials wary

The World Health Organization elevated the seriousness of the Zika virus Monday, saying it represents a global emergency, calling it an "extraordinary event."

It's a scary virus that affects unborn children and causes birth defects.

Local officials and health professionals are beginning to turn their attention to Zika, including local obstetrician Dr. Grant McWilliams.

He said Zika is linked with a condition called microcephaly, or abnormally small heads in babies.

Most cases of microcephaly end with babies dying -- if not at birth, then within a year, McWilliams said. Of the babies who don't die, many end up with debilitating brain damage from improper brain development in the womb, McWilliams said.

McWilliams has treated microephaly cases before; all were genetic defects. It affects one in every 10,000 pregnancies in the U.S. and can be observed within 20 weeks. The prognosis always is bleak because there is no cure and no treatment available.

McWilliams and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are recommending pregnant mothers avoid travel to any country with a reported case of the Zika virus. The virus is spread by daytime biting mosquitoes not native to the United States. Brazil has experienced thousands of microcephaly cases that researchers say appear to be connected to the Zika virus. Researchers still are working to prove the Zika virus causes microcephaly.

"It's definitely an association; it's definitely a correlation," McWilliams said of the connection. "It's not proven at all."

The virus has had the most effect in Brazil but has spread to Mexico, Guatemala and Puerto Rico. There have been 31 cases in the U.S. -- all from people coming back from places where the virus has spread. The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center said there has not been a case in Missouri.

"If somebody is pregnant who has gone to one of these countries, they need to contact an OBGYN," said Vanessa Landers, communicable disease coordinator for the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center.

The World Health Organization reports there could be as many as 4 million Zika cases in the Americas in 2016.

McWilliams said women who already have traveled to a country where the Zika virus has been reported to ensure they are clear of the virus before trying to become pregnant. McWilliams said the virus would be at its most damaging during the first trimester of a pregnancy, when internal organs are in the first stages of development.

For his patients, McWilliams does not recommend any travel for pregnant women, but he suggests everyone check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to find out whether a country has any health scares. He is especially wary of tropical countries, because Zika has been observed in sub-Saharan Africa and French Polynesia.

WHO director general Margaret Chan recommends if people have to travel, they should wear long sleeves and mosquito repellent. The CDC lists EPA-approved repellents on its website.

In non-pregnant adults, the effect of the Zika virus is fairly mild, occasionally accompanied by fever, joint pain, headaches, muscle pain, rash and red eyes, according the CDC. The CDC also states only 1 in 5 adults who contract the virus shows symptoms.

Zika is a relatively new disease, first observed in Uganda in 1947. Michael Osterholm, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Minnesota, said it still was unclear how Zika had evolved since it first emerged in Africa, but even minor genetic changes might have major consequences.

WHO declared a disaster emergency faster than it did for Ebola in 2014. By the time a global emergency was declared for Ebola in 2014, thousands of people had died.

Jamey Keaten and Miria Cheng of the Associated Press contributed to this report.

bkleine@semissourian.com

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