Journals Draw Attention To Global Threat Of Zika Virus In 2016

The Lancet: Zika virus: a new global threat for 2016
Editorial Board

“Concerns about the threat posed to global health security by Zika virus are escalating, with new outbreaks reported in Central and South America. … With an estimated 440,000-1,300,000 cases currently in Brazil alone, Zika virus could be following in the footsteps of dengue and chikungunya, which are also transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Given that an outbreak anywhere is potentially a threat everywhere, now is the time to step up all efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to Zika virus” (1/9).

PLOS “Speaking of Medicine”: Will Zika become the 2016 NTD of the Year?
Peter Hotez and Serap Aksoy, co-editors in chief of PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

“…The transmission of Zika virus in the New World presents multiple challenges, especially in the prevention of maternal infection and congenital transmission. … There are also potentially momentous economic implications, including the prospect of taking care of a generation of neurodevastated children in northeastern Brazil and possibly elsewhere in the Americas, in addition to the possible derailment of the tourist industry in parts of the Caribbean, Mesoamerica, and South America. … [Furthermore, the] development of a Zika vaccine could be a game-changer. … For all those reasons, we are treating Zika virus with the utmost seriousness and launching a new PLOS Currents series and a PLOS NTDs collection…” (1/7).

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