Disaster type: Epidemic
Affected countries: Argentina, Aruba (The Netherlands), Barbados, Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba (The Netherlands), Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao (The Netherlands), Dominica, Dominican Republic, Easter Island (Chile), Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana (France), Guadeloupe (France), Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique (France), Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico (The United States of America), Saint Lucia, Saint Martin (France), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten (The Netherlands), Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States Virgin Islands, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
WHO issued an Epidemiological Alert warning about the Zika virus in the Americas, confirming the presence of the Zika virus in nine countries as of 1 December 2015: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela. (WHO, 1 Dec 2015)
On 18 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point for Haiti notified PAHO/WHO of 5 laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika virus infection. (WHO, 21 Jan 2016)
On 1 February 2016, WHO Director-General declared the Zika virus a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern". (WHO, 1 Feb 2016) On the same day, the IFRC launched an emergency appeal for CHF2,38 million to reach 200,000 people through direct intervention and 1 million people through indirect community engagement. (IFRC, 1 Feb 2016 )
The detection of autochtonous cases of Zika virus infection indicates that the virus is spreading geographically to previously unaffected areas (Costa Rica, Curaçao, Jamaica and Nicaragua). (WHO, 10 Feb 2016)
On 16 February 2016, WHO launched "Zika: Strategic Response Framework and Joint Operations Plan" requesting US$56 million. (WHO, 16 Feb 2016)
As of 24 March 2016, there were 187,473 suspected cases of Zika in the Americas, 4,629 confirmed cases and 9 deaths reported. (WHO/PAHO, 24 Mar 2016)
Since the detection of Zika virus in Brazil in 2015 to date, 33 have confirmed autochtonous vector-borne transmission of Zika virus in the Region of the Americas. No new countries or territories have confirmed vector-borne transmission in the last 2 weeks of March. (WHO, 31 Mar 2016)
Appeals & Funding
- Zika: Strategic Response Framework and Joint Operations Plan
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Useful Links
- WHO: Microcephaly/Zika virus
- PAHO: Zika Virus infection
- PAHO: Interactive Map - Geographic distribution of confirmed cases of Zika virus (locally acquired) in countries and territories of the Americas, 2015-2016
- Zika News (media sources)
Date: 09 Dec 2015
Status: Ongoing
