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 The third meeting of independent experts, which gathers every three
months to access the Zika outbreak, came amid intensifying concerns
over the staging of the Olympics in Brazil, the country hardest hit
by the virus.
"The risks are no different for people going to the Olympics than
for other areas where there are outbreaks of Zika," David Heymann,
chair of the WHO's expert panel, told reporters at WHO headquarters
in Geneva after the meeting.
Brazilian authorities have confirmed more than 1,400 cases of
microcephaly in babies whose mothers were exposed to Zika during
pregnancy. Microcephaly is a birth defect marked by small head size
that can cause severe developmental problems in babies. The virus
has also been linked to Guillain-Barre, a neurological disorder in
adults.
International Olympic Committee Chairman Thomas Bach said the WHO's
conclusion was "very positive" for the Rio Games.
The latest meeting was touched off by a letter drafted by Amir
Attaran, a professor of law and medicine at the University of
Ottawa, and signed by a group of more than 200 bioethicists, lawyers
and health experts urging the WHO to move or postpone the Rio Games
because of the risk that they could amplify the spread of Zika.
Attaran had been invited to take part in WHO's Emergency Committee
meeting, but he declined to sign WHO's required confidentiality
agreement, and was not permitted to take part.
In an email to Reuters, Attaran called the agreement a "gag clause"
that inhibits individual scientists who disagree with the committee
from expressing their views.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said the clause is intended to
allow for "open and unbiased discussions," adding that the content
of the meetings are made public through committee reports. Lindmeir
said Attaran's letter was part of the background material the
Emergency Committee considered in its deliberations.
In a document distributed by Attaran and his colleagues on Tuesday,
the group urged WHO to recommend individuals postpone all
non-essential travel to Zika-affected areas, which would include the
cities in Brazil hosting the Games.
The experts declined, finding "no reason to decrease travel to these
areas," Heymann said, adding, "The risk of international spread is
not a significant concern."
Dr. Bruce Aylward, WHO director of emergencies, said 20 percent of
the world's population lived in Zika-affected areas while almost 30
percent of international travel was into and out of such areas. ...
"The proportion of that travel that will be affected by the Olympics
(is) very, very, very marginal."
The experts noted that Brazil was entering winter months, when
mosquito disease transmission is lower. They cautioned travelers to
be aware of the risk and take steps to protect themselves from
mosquito bites or sexual transmission.
Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University expert in international
health law, welcomed the advice as "exactly right ...
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"The risk of holding the Olympic Games is lower than the risk of
cancelling or postponing (them) due to the economic and political
turmoil it would cause in Brazil," he said.
"(But) I am concerned that the WHO and International Olympic
Committee have placed virtually all the burden on Brazil for
(mosquito) vector control."
The WHO panel said that Brazil should "continue its work" to
intensify mosquito-control measures, especially around Olympics
venues, and "ensure the availability of sufficient insect repellent
and condoms for athletes and visitors."
The WHO has advised that pregnant women avoid travel to Zika
outbreak areas and that men who have been infected by or exposed to
the virus practice safe sex, or abstain from sex, for up to six
months.
Dr. Derek Gatherer, a lecturer in the Division of Biomedical and
Life Sciences at Lancaster University, agrees that Zika is an
international emergency because it's an "insect-borne, rubella-like
agent" with no vaccine or treatment.
"But we need to put it into perspective. It is not sufficiently
great an extra risk to justify cancelling the Games."
He said the concerns raised in the original letter and in a second
document issued on Tuesday overstate the risks, in part because they
assume that the virus circulating in Brazil is far different from
earlier, African strains, and therefore, is far more dangerous.
"We have no evidence at all that Zika has functionally evolved,"
Gatherer said in an email.
He said the dramatic appearance of microcephaly in South America "is
probably because the continent has never seen the virus before,
there is no herd immunity and women of child-bearing age are being
infected there."
(Reporting and writing by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Kate
Kelland in London; additional reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in
Chicago; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Andrew Hay)
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