Last year, it was the Ebola virus that threatened world health; this year, the buzzword is Zika. The trend of increasing amounts of microbial threats has highlighted the potentially catastrophic consequences of a globalized society.

The Zika infection is linked to the cases of microcephaly, a rare neurological condition in which an infant's head is significantly smaller than it should be.

The brains of infected babies remain underdeveloped throughout their lives.

The spread of the virus has become quite alarming in the Americas, throughout which people in a number of countries have been exposed. In Brazil alone, there have been more than 4,000 reported cases of suspected microcephaly since last October.

Between 2015 and 2016, 36 countries reported local transmissions of the Zika virus, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report on February 19, raising fears that a pandemic could emerge.

The threat is being taken very seriously, and the WHO has declared a global public health emergency to deal with it. The WHO was quick to respond, especially after it faced heavy criticism for its delay in declaring a health emergency following the Ebola outbreak.

The WHO has placed the Zika virus in the same high-level category of concern as that of the Ebola virus at its peak. That means that global efforts are now underway to try to deal with the problem before it is too late.

If Zika goes global it could become tough to control since there is currently no vaccine or effective medicine available to combat it.

The current emphasis is mostly on precautions designed to avoid catching the disease. The basic measure is to avoid contact with the Aedes mosquito that carries the virus and can transmit it to healthy people. Travelers are also being advised to delay or cancel trips to countries where the disease is already prevalent.

Those who are living in the countries with high infection rates need to adopt the usual approach to avoiding mosquito bites--wearing clothing that fully covers their arms and legs and using a good mosquito repellent.

Pregnant mothers have been advised to be extremely careful as their babies are particularly vulnerable to the devastating effects of the virus.

As the WHO and other organizations plan actions to control and ultimately eliminate the threat, there should be special focus on research to develop vaccines and drugs to treat the disease. Special target-oriented research projects should also be encouraged to mitigate the spread of the infection on both a short-term and long-term basis.

International cooperation and coordination are important. Instead of several countries working on identical projects, efforts and expertise should be pooled.

Zika has already spread to Asia, with a couple of confirmed cases having been reported in China. An uncontrolled outbreak, coupled with the region's relative lack of resources and its burgeoning population, could spell disaster for Asia.

Countries like China that have the essential technical knowledge and matching resources can play a vital role to spread awareness of precautionary measures, as well as institute practical steps in the region to face the Zika challenge.

The Zika virus, like the previous Ebola epidemic, once again shines the spotlight on countries with weaker health services across the world. Countries throughout the globe need to band together to confront this problem.

The reform of the health system and focus on research will be important to control global outbreaks of deadly and dangerous diseases. Educating everyone about viral outbreaks is also important--especially individuals in less developed countries with less access to health education and care--in order to prepare against future challenges.

The author is a Pakistan-based columnist with China.org.cn, on which the article was first published

Copyedited by Bryan Michael Galvan

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