The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that a new assessment has indicated that there is a low to moderate risk that the Zika virus would spread in Europe during late spring and summer.
Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO’s European Regional Chief, on Wednesday in Copenhagen, said there are indications that transmission would be high in a few areas where Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that can carry Zika are present.
He said it could be out of hand if the health authorities in the regions were to take no measures to fight these insects and detect infections.
Jakab mentioned the regions to include; the Portuguese Island of Madeira in the Atlantic, as well as Russian and Georgian coastal regions on the north-eastern Black Sea.
He added that 18 mostly Mediterranean countries would have a moderate likelihood of the virus spreading there, given the presence of Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, another potential carrier.
“This group includes Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, Greece and Turkey.
“We call particularly on countries at higher risk to strengthen their national capacities and prioritize the activities that will prevent a large Zika outbreak,” he said.
Jakab said for its overall risk assessment, WHO considered not only the likelihood of a spread, based on environmental factors, but also countries’ capacities to respond to a possible Zika outbreak.
“The results show that across the WHO European Region the risk is low to moderate during late spring and summer.
“Only five European countries are not well prepared, WHO said, without disclosing these countries,’’ he said.
He noted that most countries have strategies in place to decrease mosquito populations, to detect Zika cases, to analyze them in laboratories and to inform their populations in case of an outbreak.
Jakab said there is no any travel warnings for Europe, as there is currently no Zika transmission on the continent, but disclosed that it may issue travel advice to pregnant women if this situation changes.
Zika only causes harmless flu symptoms in most cases, but the current outbreak in Latin America has shown that it can also lead to serious neurological defects in babies and adults.