National contingency plan on Zika virus to be framed

Islamabad

A national contingency plan will be developed on the basis of recommendations of a national consultation held at the Ministry of Health here Friday to review Zika virus preparedness and response.

The consultation was organised in the wake of spread of Zika virus in Latin America and the disease being declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHIEC) by the World Health Organization in view of its link with severe birth defects. Cases of severe birth defects previously reported in Brazil from 2001 to 2011 were 163 per year on an average. The figure from 2014 to 2016 has jumped to 4,783 cases per year including 76 deaths.

The meeting was chaired by the minister of state for health and was attended by senior infectious disease experts from the provinces and international agencies. The country head of WHO was also present.

The government claimed being alive to the global situation, which has escalated with Zika virus now being reported from 33 countries mostly in Latin America. The fact that both Zika virus and Dengue are caused by the same mosquito which is prevalent in Pakistan, and the fact that Zika virus itself is closely related to the Dengue virus, calls for extreme vigilance and close monitoring of the situation in Pakistan.

The government, in partnership with the provincial departments and technical partners is preparing to undertake necessary measures for prevention and control of potential spread of Zika virus. The meeting was informed that currently no Zika virus case has been reported from WHO region in which Pakistan is located. The participants agreed to utilising the infrastructure in place for prevention and control of Dengue for the purpose of controlling Zika virus as well.