Zika Virus Should Be Characterized As National, Global Health Security Threat To Encourage Resource Allocation

The Lancet Infectious Diseases: Zika virus and global health security
Lawrence O. Gostin, professor and director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, and James G. Hodge Jr., professor and director of the public health law and policy program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University

“…[P]revention of Zika virus infection is a matter of global health security. … Continued global transmission foretells the rise of a so-called Zika generation. … The social, political, and economic implications represent a major global public health failure. … Characterizing the rise in Zika virus infections as a national and global security threat could galvanize governments to devote greater resources. Fast-moving epidemics have consequences similar to humanitarian crises, climate change, and war. Yet, the international community downplays epidemic threats and underinvests. This kind of apathy and short-sightedness must change” (October 2016).

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