WHO reassures women on Zika

The World Health Organisation advised women on Wednesday on how to protect themselves from Zika, particularly if pregnant, but also reassured them that most women in areas affected by the mosquito-borne virus will give birth to “normal infants.”

The illness, until recently viewed as relatively mild, has sparked concern because of a possible link between infection in pregnancy and microcephaly, a rare birth defect in which infants are born with abnormally small heads that can be accompanied by developmental problems.

In its advice, the Geneva-based WHO said women in areas with the virus should protect themselves, especially during pregnancy, by covering up against mosquitoes and practicing safe sex through the use of condoms. It said more evidence was needed to confirm whether sex commonly transmits the virus.

The agency, which declared a health emergency over Zika on February 1, did not recommend travel restrictions but suggested women should consult their doctors or authorities if travelling.

Pregnant women in general, including those who develop symptoms of Zika infection, should see their health care provider for close monitoring. But the WHO was also reassuring, declaring: “Most women in Zika-affected areas will give birth to normal infants.”

A study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine provided new evidence strengthening the association between the Zika virus and a spike in birth defects, citing the presence of the virus in the brain of an aborted fetus of a European woman who became pregnant while living in Brazil.

As scientists race to find out more about the virus and its possible effects, 30 of the world’s leading scientific research institutions, journals and funders pledged to share for free all data and expertise on the virus as soon as they have it.

“The arguments for sharing data and the consequences of not doing so (have been)... thrown into stark relief by the Ebola and Zika outbreaks,” said the agreement by an unprecedented number of signatories in the Americas, Japan, Europe and elsewhere. There is as yet no vaccine or treatment for the disease.

The Zika outbreak has raised the issue of a woman’s reproductive rights including abortion, a contentious issue in most parts of Latin America.

The WHO said on Wednesday that, “Women who wish to terminate a pregnancy due to a fear of microcephaly should have access to safe abortion services to the full extent of the law.”

Abortion is illegal in many cases in Brazil, and in much of the region. Reflecting the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in many parts of the Americas, a Catholic group appealed to Pope Francis on Wednesday to allow Church members to “follow their conscience” and use contraception or to let women have abortions to protect themselves.