In response to the fast spread of Zika virus infection worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) has scheduled an information session on Zika virus to be held on January 28, 2016 at 8pm Taipei time. Health officials, including,  the WHO Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan, officials from the WHO's Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the director of communicable disease surveillance with the Brazil's health ministry, and a representative from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC), will brief the WHO Member States attending the 138^th WHO executive board meeting on the current Zika virus situation and the WHO’s current response. The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) will pay close attention to any updates on relevant prevention and control efforts as well as closely monitor the development of the current Zika virus situation in order to adjust the existing prevention and control efforts accordingly.

Since the second half of 2015, Zika virus has spread rapidly in Central and South America and the virus continues to spread. A couple of days ago, WHO warned the virus is “likely to spread across nearly all of the Americas”. On January 26, 2016, the US President Barack Obama also stressed the need to speed up research efforts for vaccines and treatments. As Zika virus infection has been listed as a Category II Notifiable Infectious Disease in Taiwan, pregnant women and women planning pregnancy are advised to postpone their trip to affected areas. If travel to affected areas is unavoidable, please consult with the physician prior to the trip and take necessary precautions. As of now, at least 21 countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean, including Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guaina, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, Saint Martin, Guayana, Ecuador, Bolivia, Barbados, Guadelope, and Dominican Republic, have reported indigenous cases.

Beside Central and South America and the Caribbean, Cape Verde in Africa has also reported indigenous cases. Sporadic, imported cases from Central and South America have been reported in Europe (the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Italy, the U.K., Spain, Switzerland, and Denmark), the U.S., Canada, Israel and New Zealand. Since 2013, imported cases from Malaysia, Thailand, Maldives and Indonesia have been reported. On the other hand, in Brazil, a cumulative total of approximately 4,000 cases of Zika virus infection developed microcephaly. In French Polynesia, Honduras, and El Salvador, some cases of Zika virus infection developed Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). The link between these neurologic conditions and Zika virus infection still requires further studies.

Taiwan CDC advises pregnant women to postpone their trips to areas affected by Zika virus. If visits to affected areas are necessary, please consult with the physician beforehand and take precautions accordingly. Further, Taiwan CDC urges travelers visiting affected areas to take precautions against mosquito bites such as wearing light-colored clothing, long sleeves and long pants, applying officially approved mosquito repellent to exposed parts of the body, staying at accommodations installed with screen doors, window screens or air conditioners. Travelers planning to visit affected areas are advised to visit the outpatient travel clinic at contracted hospitals in the nation prior to their trip. If symptoms develop within two weeks of their return, please seek immediate medical attention and inform the physician of their travel history. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).