Zika virus

An experiment to sabotage Brazil’s mosquito population by releasing 450,000 gene-modified insects may have backfired, says a new study. The insect-breeding company is fighting back against the claims.

To overcome the unwillingness of Congress to pass a bill to combat Zika, Representative David Jolly (R-Florida) decided to put the fear of God ‒ or, more specifically, disease-bearing mosquitoes ‒ into his fellow House lawmakers.

All blood donations in the US and its territories must be tested for the Zika virus, the US Food and Drug Administration has announced.

More than 150 health professionals have signed an open letter urging the WHO to “reconsider” its opinion and advise the IOC to postpone or even move the upcoming Olympic Games in Brazil to another country due to the spread of the Zika virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has made a startling admission saying it is partly responsible for the outbreak of the Zika virus. The agency said the failures to prevent its spread had created a “significant threat to global health.”

To protect the Australian Olympic team from potential exposure to the Zika virus, Aussie pharmaceutical company Starpharma announced it will team up with world No2 condom maker Ansell to supply virus-proof condoms for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games.