Brussels, 28/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - A meeting of just under 100 experts in Lisbon, Portugal, on 22-24 June said that Europe would have to monitor the Zika virus and be prepared to act swiftly if necessary.
This meeting was organised by the European region of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and brought together 80 participants specialising in epidemiology, entomology, arbovirus laboratory diagnosis and emergency risk communications, with experts from the national offices of the Americas and Europe, the WHO headquarters and other partner organisations and stakeholders. The participants agreed to use the existing systems to fight against the Zika virus and recommended four areas where they will be responding to it and seeking to integrate them more effectively: anti-vectorial campaign, disease monitoring, test laboratories and risk communication emergency. According to the experts, intervention should focus on: effective preparation and a swift transition to action; selecting the most efficient forms of intervention in the different scenarios of Zika virus transmission and related complications; the need to tackle diseases that are transmitted vectorially as a whole; central coordination for local level action. The member countries represented also urged the WHO to support them by drawing up guidelines, standards, models and training in all areas of preparation and response. They also called for the exchange of information, expertise and good practices to be further facilitated and for support to be provided in the event of a significant increase in the disease.
Earlier in the week, the European Commission held talks with representatives from the transport and tourism sectors, as well as representatives from European health organisations, in an effort to prepare for the summer season and the Olympic/Paralympic Games.
The results from these meetings will be drawn on for developing a larger meeting on all the appropriate aspects surrounding the anti-vectorial campaign on 8 July. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)