Motion for a resolution on the Zika virus outbreak - B8-2016-0449

• Published date: 07 April 2016
• Publication title: Africa Newswire

7 April 2016 The European Parliament,

- having regard to the statement of 1 February 2016 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring the Zika virus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern,

- having regard to Decision No 1082/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 on serious cross-border threats to health and repealing Decision No 2119/98/EC(1),

- having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing Horizon 2020 - the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020)(2),

- having regard to the question to the Commission on the Zika virus outbreak (O-000030/2016 - B8‑000119/2016),

- having regard to Rules 128(5) and 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 1 February 2016 the WHO declared the Zika virus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC);

B. whereas the Zika virus is an emerging mosquito-borne virus that was first identified in Uganda's Zika forest in 1947 in rhesus monkeys, through a monitoring network for sylvatic yellow fever;

C. whereas outbreaks of Zika virus disease have been sporadically recorded in two European regions, Martinique and French Guiana, and in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, and whereas cases of contamination have been detected in Europe, particularly in the Overseas Territories of Guadeloupe and Saint Martin;

D. whereas in 2007, the Zika virus emerged outside its known endemic boundaries for the first time and caused an epidemic on Yap Island in the Federated States of Micronesia, followed by a widespread epidemic in French Polynesia in 2013-2014 and a subsequent spread to several countries in Oceania, including New Caledonia and the Cook Islands; whereas, while the Zika virus was generally considered to only cause mild human disease, the outbreak in French Polynesia revealed the virus's potential to cause neurological complications (i.e. Guillain-Barré syndrome and meningoencephalitis);

E. whereas according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 'most of the infections remain asymptomatic (approximately 80 %)';

F. whereas the biggest outbreak of the Zika virus has been recorded in Brazil, particularly Northeast Brazil;

G. whereas in November 2015 the Brazilian Ministry of Health declared a public health emergency in relation to an unusual increase in the number of children born with microcephaly in Pernambuco State during 2015; whereas the striking increase is visibly mainly in the most severe forms of microcephaly but some reports suggest that the prevalence of milder forms of that disease was exceptionally high even a few years before the Zika outbreak in 2015;

H. whereas mosquito life cycle depends on climate, habitat and biodiversity, and whereas mosquito spread is facilitated by human factors such as climate change, man-made aquatic habitats, deforestation, urbanisation and lack of sanitation, urban waste, conflicts and travelling;

I. whereas the outbreak of the Zika virus has exposed existing inequalities in the countries affected, including with regard to public health systems and living conditions, whilst disproportionately affecting the poorest members of society who often live next to open water sources and are ill-equipped to prevent and confront the disease; whereas women still account for the majority of the world's poor and their situation is particularly at stake as the prime responsible party in the household for food, clean water, hygiene and raising children with microcephaly-associated syndromes, something which may necessitate additional financial resources, particularly when no adequate or affordable support structures are in place;

J. whereas imported cases of Zika virus infection have been reported in several European countries; whereas on 11 February 2016 the ECDC referred to a case of microcephaly detected in a pregnant woman in Slovenia, who developed a Zika-like infection during pregnancy while residing in Brazil;

K. whereas, as of 9 February 2016, no cases of autochthonous Zika virus transmission have been reported on the European continent but a few cases have been reported in European outermost...