TEXT
The World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus an international public health emergency, prompted by growing concern that it could cause birth defects. As many as four million people could be infected by the end of the year. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have urged pregnant women against travel to about two dozen countries, mostly in the Caribbean and Latin America, where the outbreak is growing.
The infection appears to be linked to the development of unusually small heads and brain damage in newborns. Some pregnant women who have been to these regions should be tested for the infection, the agency said.
The possibility that the Zika virus causes microcephaly – unusually small heads and often damaged brains – emerged only in October, when doctors in northern Brazil noticed a surge in babies with the condition.
It may be that other factors, such as simultaneous infection with other viruses, are contributing to the rise; investigators may even find that Zika virus is not the main cause, although right now circumstantial evidence suggests that it is.
It is not known how common microcephaly has become in Brazil’s outbreak. About three million babies are born in Brazil each year. Normally, about 150 cases of microcephaly are reported, and Brazil says it is investigating nearly 4,000 cases. Yet reported cases usually increase when people are alerted to a potential health crisis.
Google Notícias
Durante os últimos meses, tivemos inúmeras manchetes alertando as pessoas sobre uma nova doença se espalhando nas Américas, com imagens chocantes das supostas vítimas: bebês nascidos com cabeças menores que o comum. Mulheres grávidas foram aconselhadas a não viajarem para os países infectados, e o mundo começou a se assustar com a ameaça de uma epidemia como a dos filmes de ficção.
Com base no artigo da revista New York Times, pode-se afirmar que
