European Union invests €45 million into research to combat the Zika disease

The European Union, through the Horizon 2020 programme, is investing €45 million in research to combat the outbreak of the Zika virus disease and other emerging infections transmitted by mosquitoes. The significant funding from the EU's research and innovation programme will support research on treatments, diagnostics and vaccines, as well as better risk assessment for Zika.

Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: "This funding will be a major boost to the international effort to stop the outbreak of the Zika virus disease and protect new-borns as well as adults. Such outbreaks appear suddenly and know no borders. This research is an example of how we can mobilise funding quickly to face major new threats, and how we can lead a major research effort on a global scale."

The majority of the funding, €30 million, will go to three research consortia: ZikaPLAN (€11 million), coordinated by the Umeå University in Sweden, ZIKAction (€7 million), coordinated by the PENTA Foundation in Italy, and ZikAlliance (€12 million), coordinated by INSERM in France. Researchers from Europe, Brazil, other Latin American countries and the Caribbean will collaborate in the consortia to fill the knowledge gaps on Zika infection and its consequences for pregnant women, new-born babies and adults, and they will also develop improved diagnostic tests and investigate options for treatment and prevention.

Zika experts: acute virus infection associated with sensory polyneuropathy

A group of researchers from Honduras, Venezuela and the USA has described the first case of sensory polyneuropathy associated with acute Zika virus infection. The scientific paper was published in the Journal of Neurological Science online (www.jns-journal.com/article/S0022-510X(16)30535-4/abstract).

The new publication is part of the collaborate efforts of the World Federation of Neurology Work Group on Zika. Concerned about the increasing number of neurological complications related to the Zika virus, the WFN has recently established this forum to contribute expertise to the coordinated global response to the Zika crisis. A large percentage of people suffering from Zika virus infections are asymptomatic or show only mild symptoms. But potential neurological complications can be dramatic.

“Zika virus infection has become a new emergent neuropathological agent with several neurological complications”, says Prof John England, Chair of the WFN Work Group and Chair of the Department of Neurology at the LSUHSC School of Medicine in New Orleans. “Outbreaks of Guillain Barré Syndrome (GBS) associated with Zika virus infections have been reported as well as a high occurrence of a syndrome associated with congenital Zika virus infection, mainly microcephaly with brain malformations. Other neurological complications associated with Zika virus infections have also been reported such as meningoencephalitis, or acute myelitis.”

“Clinicians should be aware that Zika virus infection can also cause an acute infectious sensory polyneuropathy”, says Prof Marco T. Medina, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras, also a member of the WFN Zika Work Group and first author of the new publication. “Our patient is the first confirmed Zika infection case report associated with an acute sensory polyneuropathy which began during the acute infectious phase. This suggests a probable direct viral inflammatory process affecting sensory nerves, but an autoimmune etiology cannot be definitely excluded.”

Current WHO statistics reported an ongoing transmission of infections by mosquitoes in 70 countries and territories by the reference date of 25 August 2016. Since February 2016, eleven countries have reported human-to-human transmissions with a high probability that these transmissions were sexual. Microcephaly and other malformations of foetuses that can be connected to a Zika infection have been recorded already in 20 countries. In 18 countries, there has been a striking increase in the number of cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) or confirmed infections among GBS sufferers. All figures are increasing. 

La SEIMC asegura que deportistas y visitantes de los JJOO no deben temer al Zika, ya que el riesgo es bajo

Ante la inminente llegada de deportistas y visitantes a Brasil para asistir a los Juegos Olímpicos, que se inauguran el próximo 5 de agosto, la Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica (SEIMC) ratifica que el riesgo de infección por Zika es bajo.

En este sentido, la SEIMC apoya la declaración de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) que minimiza el riesgo por varios factores. En primer lugar, agosto es un mes frío y seco en Brasil, condiciones climatológicas que reducen drásticamente la población de mosquitos Aedes aegypti y, por tanto, los riesgos de transmisión. En segundo lugar, las mayores incidencias de Zika se dan en el distrito federal de Mato Grosso, a casi 2.000 kilómetros de Río de Janeiro. Por último, la OMS ha recordado que las personas que asistan a los JJOO permanecerán la mayoría del tiempo en instalaciones que han sido fuertemente tratadas con insecticidas.

El Dr. Juan Carlos Galán, Microbiólogo Clínico y portavoz de la SEIMC, explica que la experiencia del Mundial de Fútbol 2014 celebrado también en Brasil puede servir como ilustración: “En esa fecha, Brasil tenía la tasa más alta de Dengue del mundo, que es transmitido por el mismo mosquito que el Zika. Del millón de personas que asistieron a los eventos deportivos, solo tres personas contrajeron la enfermedad y en regiones muy alejadas de las ciudades donde se celebraron los partidos de fútbol”.

En relación a la cuestión de si los JJOO suponen una posibilidad real de desatar epidemias en lugares del mundo en los que no existan casos de Zika, el Centro para el Control de Enfermedades de los Estados Unidos (CDC) ha publicado recientemente un informe en el que se explica que el riesgo de dispersión de este virus por personas que asistan a los JJOO, es bajo o prácticamente nulo en todos los países. De los 206 países que asistirán a los Juegos, solo en cuatro países se dan las condiciones ambientales y poblacionales para que se produzcan cadenas de transmisión autóctonas.

El Dr. Galán afirma que, aunque exista alerta social por la presencia de un virus no bien conocido, la realidad es que “los asistentes a los eventos de los JJOO tendrán más probabilidades de enfermar por gripe o por una intoxicación alimentaria que por Zika. Aun así, varias delegaciones olímpicas han anunciado que los uniformes de los atletas estarán cubiertos con repelentes de mosquitos. Cinco países, entre ellos España, han adoptado medidas adicionales para la protección de sus atletas. En cualquier caso, la OMS, el Comité Olímpico Internacional (COI) y los organizadores locales tienen la responsabilidad de garantizar que los atletas y asistentes a los JJOO reciban información basada en la evidencia, y adopten todas las precauciones para evitar el contagio”.

Sin embargo, no se deben descartar las precauciones para evitar la posibilidad de un contagio. Con respecto a ello, el Dr. José Antonio Pérez-Molina, Infectólogo y experto en enfermedades tropicales y portavoz de la SEIMC, destaca como principales medidas que las mujeres embarazadas “no viajen a los países donde circula el virus si pueden evitarlo, y si lo hacen deben extremar las precauciones”. Además, recomienda a las personas que viajen a Brasil que vistan “con ropa de manga larga, pantalón largo, calcetines y calzado cerrado”. El Dr. Pérez-Molina recomienda como precaución adicional el uso de repelentes específicos que contengan DEET, Icaridina o IR3535, siempre teniendo en cuenta que los mosquitos que transmiten esta infección pican sobre todo durante el día y en el exterior.

Especial relevancia cobran las medidas de precaución en el caso de las mujeres que viajen a una zona donde circule el virus Zika y deseen quedarse embarazadas. De esta manera, el Dr. Pérez-Molina explica que es recomendable para las mujeres “un tiempo de espera de ocho semanas tras el regreso para quedarse embarazadas, o si han presentado síntomas, esperar ocho semanas desde el total restablecimiento”. Por otra parte, en parejas sexuales con mujeres embarazadas que regresen de un área con Zika se aconseja mantener relaciones con preservativos o abstenerse de tenerlas, mientras dure el embarazo. Si la pareja no está embarazada y el varón tuvo una infección sintomática por Zika, el tiempo de precaución se extiende durante seis meses.

Zika experts: varied neurological complications, virus still detectable after recovery

  The International Congress on Neuromuscular Diseases (ICND) just drew to an end in Toronto. Among the many questions addressed there were these: How diverse can the neurological complications after a Zika infection be? How long does the virus survive in the body? How is the spread of the infection developing world-wide.

 
Too early for the all clear even outside areas affected by the epidemic – monitoring and control
 
Prof John England, Chair of the Department of Neurology at the LSUHSC School of Medicine in New Orleans and chair of a special Working Group on Zika of the World Federation of Neurology, said the good news is this: “Until now, we have not observed any Zika infection being transmitted by mosquitoes in Europe and North America. The Zika cases that have become known in these parts of the world were largely imported; in other words, the patients were infected in areas hit by the Zika epidemic. They can then pass the virus on to others.”

According to Prof England it is, however, not time to send the all clear: “We need continued close-knit monitoring to curb the spread of the infection to the greatest possible extent. All countries should take measures to ensure that imported Zika infections can be detected as quickly as possible. In this context, we welcome the trend in many countries toward establishing a duty to report detected cases. The public health authorities should also provide thorough information to travellers heading toward the affected regions – especially in light of the many athletes and tourists who will soon be taking part in and attending the Olympic Games in Brazil. The information should also cover the risk of sexual transmission.”

All countries where infection can be transmitted by mosquitoes should take actions to control these insects.  This statement applies to all areas where Aedes Aegyptus mosquitoes occur as well as Aedes Albopictus mosquitoes, which are also much more widely spread in Europe.

New research results - virus detectable in the body for a long period
 
Research has intensified in the course of the Zika crisis and keeps bringing new findings to light. These findings pertain not only to the serious malformations in new-borns whose mothers sustained a Zika infection while pregnant with them such as microcephaly, which is quite widely known in the meantime. They also pertain to other serious neurological complications from the infection such as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).
 
“Newer data from Brazil confirms what previous studies have already shown. Contact with the Zika virus massively increases the risk of contracting GBS,” Brazilian expert Prof Osvaldo Nascimento from Universidade Federal Fluminense in Rio de Janiero and member of the WFN Working Group reported in Toronto. “In addition, the current studies that we are conducting in our specialized research groups in Brazil show that the clinical picture of GBS resulting from Zika infection is by no means uniform; many different subgroups can be observed. For instance, some patients exhibit massive processes while in others, GBS occurs jointly with sensory polyneuropathy, with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis or with myelitis. These phenomena have not yet been decrypted and will continue to be the subject of further studies.”

According to Prof Osvaldo, the consequences of another finding will also have to be studied in detail. As it turns out, the virus can still be detected in the spinal cord in many GBS patients even months after their recovery. “This may be akin to a similar phenomenon such as Herpes Zoster, where the virus lies more or less dormant in the body for many years and then becomes active again under certain circumstances such as stress or a weakening of the immune system and unleashes serious symptoms. Further research will have to examine what significance this fact has for another breakout of the Zika infection or the passing on of Zika viruses to other persons.”
 
Current WHO statistics reported an ongoing transmission of infections by mosquitoes in 65 countries and territories by the reference date of 7 July 2016. Eleven countries including Germany, France and Spain have reported human-to-human transmissions with a high probability that these transmissions were sexual. Microcephaly and other malformations of foetuses that can be connected to a Zika infection have been recorded already in 13 countries; in May they had occurred in only eight countries. In 15 countries, there has been a striking increase in the number of cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) or confirmed infections among GBS sufferers.
 
The WHO and the Pan American Health Organisation PAHO recently published recommendations for athletes and visitors going to the Olympic Games. These individuals should consistently protect themselves against mosquito bites by wearing suitable clothing and using insect repellent. It is also important that these individuals refrain from sex or have only protected sex during their stay in Brazil and for at least eight weeks thereafter. Pregnant women are still advised not to travel to the affected areas, in other words, not to Rio de Janeiro either.   

¿Cómo combatir al mosquito tigre?

 Desde su llegada a España el verano de 2004, el mosquito tigre ha ido expandiendo su área de actuación año tras año. La presencia de este insecto invasor de origen surasiático, catalogado como una de las 100 especies más dañinas del mundo, representa una amenaza para la salud pública y pone en riesgo la temporada turística de centenares de pueblos y ciudades de Catalunya, Comunidad Valenciana, Murcia, Andalucía e Islas Baleares.

 “El mediterráneo simboliza el epicentro de esta problemática”, apunta Jordi Tapias, director técnico de Anticimex España, compañía internacional de control de plagas e higiene ambiental, lo que “obliga a poner en alerta a los ciudadanos e incluso a adelantar la campaña anual de prevención contra el mosquito a las autoridades competentes”, explica.

Ante la proliferación del mosquitos tigre, los especialistas de Anticimex recomiendan: evitar depósitos de agua, puesto que las larvas de los mosquitos son acuáticas y necesitan de este elemento para criar;  respetar a los insectívoros, que de forma natural realizan un control biológico de la población de ésta y otras plagas; mantener limpias, depuradas y cloradas las piscinas, o tapar con telasmosquiteras pozos, la ventilación de las fosas sépticas, cámaras de aire, forjados sanitarios y ventanas, así como controlar que las juntas cierren herméticamente.

Esta temporada, la prevención ante el virus Zika ha endurecido la campaña contra el mosquito tigre en España. El virus del zika es similar al dengue o la fiebre amarilla y se transmite tras la picadura de un mosquito del género Aedes. Por el momento, el mosquito tigre es el único mosquito del género Aedes que se conoce en nuestro país y, como señala Jordi Tapias, “la población de mosquito tigre en España no se encuentra infectada por el virus zika, por lo que no son transmisores de esta enfermedad”.

Para evitar la introducción del virus Zika Tapias asegura que “es clave vigilar la entrada de mercancías en puertos y aeropuertos, especialmente aquellas que puedan alojar agua en su interior como neumáticos usados o plantas exóticas”.

Un servicio integral para el contra el mosquito

Anticimex cuenta con un servicio integral único en el mercado para el control de mosquitos e insectos voladores en zonas exteriores.

“Nuestro servicio es respetuoso con el medio ambiente y sin impacto para la salud de las personas y los animales domésticos basado en tratamientos preventivos” señala Jordi Tapias. “Un sistema que permiten controlar zonas de riesgo de cría de todo tipo de mosquitos, en áreas exteriores públicas, y trabajar en focos puntuales de cría, en áreas privadas”, explica.

“Nuestra solución para el control de mosquitos se basa en un método innovador y único en España, actúa como barrera contra los mosquitos y es muy efectivo puesto que se adapta a cada usuario, teniendo en cuenta su rutina y zona de aplicación”, asegura Tapias.

Tratamientos que se complementan con campañas de concienciación en las que se traslada a toda la ciudadanía la información necesaria para el conocimiento de este insecto y se aclaran aquellas dudas que los vecinos tengan respecto a los potenciales lugares de cría, las medidas más efectivas para protegerse de las picaduras y todas aquellas pequeñas acciones que cada persona puede realizar para evitar la propagación de la especie.

10 cosas que deberías saber sobre el mosquito tigre

1.    Es un mosquito pequeño, de no más de un centímetro de longitud, de color negro y con un patrón característico de manchas blancas en el abdomen y rayas también blancas en las patas posteriores.

2.    Tienen un ritmo de actividad diurna, que va desde la salida hasta la puesta del sol, siendo más frenético durante los intervalos entre las 6 y las 10 horas y las 16 y las 22 horas.

3.    Los mosquitos tigre se alimentan de néctar de plantas. Solamente las hembras recién fecundadas se alimentan de sangre para poder obtener las proteínas necesarias para la formación de huevos.

4.    Una sola hembra de mosquito tigre puede poner hasta 240 huevos, que llegan a su fase adulta en una semana.

5.    Los huevos del mosquito tigre tienen una gran capacidad de supervivencia, ya que pueden mantenerse en estado de aletargamiento durante meses en situaciones de desecación o temperaturas hibernales.

6.    Es falso que este insecto se siente atraído por la luz.

7.    Los tratamientos repelentes basados en sistemas de ultrasonido no son eficaces.

8.    Esta especie se siente atraída por el calor que desprende el cuerpo humano, pero también por su olor y transpiración mediante dióxido de carbono. La combinación de estos tres factores hace que unas personas sean más apetecibles que otras para picarles.

9.    Los mosquitos tigre se sienten cautivados por pequeñas trazas de amoníaco, una sustancia que está presente en nuestra sangre, y también por algunos aromas como el de la canela, la nuez moscada o el que desprenden algunas plantas aromáticas como el clavo.

10.  La tendencia de los mosquitos tigre adultos de introducirse en vehículos es otra forma de introducción del mosquito de zonas invadidas a zonas sin invadir. 

World Federation of Neurology Working Group on Zika developing guidelines for diagnosing Zika-related neurological complications

The President of the World Federation of Neurology (WFN) Prof Raad Shakir (London), said today that following the first confirmed Zika-related case of microcephaly on US territory, in Puerto Rico, and the ever-growing number of sexually-transmitted Zika infections in Europe, “it is increasingly obvious that the Zika epidemic has long assumed global proportions.” As the opening of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro draws closer, and with WHO warnings about the risk of Zika taking hold in Europe, more and more attention would be focussed on the relentless spread of the epidemic, said Prof Shakir.

Concerned about the increasing number of neurological complications related to the Zika virus, the WFN has recently established a working group to contribute expertise in support of the coordinated global response to the Zika crisis. A large percentage of people suffering from Zika virus infections are asymptomatic or show only mild symptoms. But potential neurological complications can be dramatic. “There is a lack of awareness that perhaps more risks are involved in Zika infections than the devastating foetal malformations when Zika is acquired during pregnancy such as the now-familiar microcephaly issue. With major neurological conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), myelitis, or meningoencephalitis involved in Zika infections, the risks are much broader than originally thought,” says Prof John England (Louisiana State University, New Orleans) who chairs the WFN Zika Work Group.

In a follow-up to a recent meeting on the public health implications of Zika in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Prof John England and Prof Marco Medina, of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras, also a member of the WFN Zika Work Group, agreed on the need for formal guidelines outlining diagnostic criteria for neurological complications of the Zika virus. “We will be working over the next weeks to develop a broad consensus among experts on this,” said Prof England.

With no vaccination in prospect for the time being and lack of evidence about the risk factors influencing the development of neurological symptoms after Zika infection, the focus is now on surveillance, enhanced mosquito control, and prevention, says Prof England. “In particular at a time when thousands of athletes and fans will be travelling to Rio in July, we need to create awareness about the risks involved, and what needs to be done for personal protection.”

As of 11 May 2016, 58 countries and territories report continuing mosquito-borne Zika transmission. Nine countries have reported evidence of person-to-person transmission of the virus.

Neurological expertise crucial to deal with devastating Zika consequences

“The Zika virus is more and more showing its ugly face, and the international community increasingly realises the dimensions of this problem. Neurological expertise is crucial to deal with the consequences of what proves to be a devastating epidemic”, says Prof Raad Shakir (London), President of the World Federation of Neurology (WFN): “The WFN is therefore joining forces with all organisations and agencies, and in particular with WHO efforts, to cope with this serious situation. A new WFN Work Group on Zika virus has just been established which will contribute the neurological angle and expertise to the coordinated global response to help affected countries and health care providers deal with the crisis.”
 
Neurological Zika complications: More than microcephaly – larger groups at risks
 
The neurologists’ contribution is particularly relevant because there is growing concern and evidence about the increasing number of neurological complications involved in the spread of the Zika virus. While a large percentage of persons with Zika virus disease are either asymptomatic or show a mild course, with fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain and headache, which does not need major medical intervention, possible neurological consequences can be devastating.
 
“The latest evidence suggests a clear association of the virus with a congenital syndrome of brain mal-development and an increased incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and other neurological conditions, such as myelitis and meningoencephalitis,“ says Prof John England (Louisiana State University, New Orleans) who chairs the new WFN Work Group on the neurological complications of Zika virus. “While a lot of public attention has been drawn to microcephaly, which has already affected thousands of babies in Brazil and French Polynesia, this dramatic condition is only one of several documented birth abnormalities associated with Zika infection during pregnancy. Other grave outcomes include fetal death, placental insufficiency, fetal growth retardation, and injury to the central nervous system which will lead to many more complications which we will only see in the long term.”
 
Zika virus infection can also cause major complications in adults. “13 countries and territories have reported an increase in the incidence of GBS in conjunction with the wave of Zika virus outbreak”, Prof England reports. “GBS leads to paralysis due to immunological effects of the virus on the peripheral nervous system. The morbidity is high and approximately 25 to 30 percent of affected individuals require respiratory support with ventilators.“  Latest research from Recife, Brazil, just presented at the ongoing meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, associates Zika virus infections also with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM), another autoimmune disorder that attacks the brain’s myelin similar to MS.
 
“So there are a lot more risks involved in Zika infections than pregnancy complications and microcephaly. The risk group is broader than originally thought and the modes of transmission go beyond mosquito bites, it is now known that they include also sexual contacts,” Prof England stresses.
 
Zika virus is now most prevalent in the northern region of South America, and in Central America. As of 20 April 2016, Zika virus transmission was documented in a total of 66 countries or territories, 42 countries are experiencing a first outbreak of Zika virus since 2015, with no previous evidence of circulation, and with ongoing transmission by mosquitos. Eight countries have now reported evidence of person-to-person transmission of Zika virus.
 
Prof England: “Of great concern is the fact that the geographical distribution of the virus has steadily and rapidly expanded. There is great concern that the virus outbreak will continue to spread to other countries and territories. It has already reached the Caribbean countries and may spread to the southern United States and other countries where the virus mosquito vector (Aedes aegypti) thrives.
 
Lack of resources in neurological care
 
Apart from many aspects of the epidemic and its neurological complications that still need to be answered by research, the appropriate care of Zika victims is a particular challenge, according to WFN President Prof Shakir: “The resources available for neurological diagnosis and therapy and access to neurological care are very unevenly distributed globally, as the WHO Atlas shows.” The number of neurologists per 100,000 inhabitants is significantly lower in low-income versus high-income regions (0.03/100,000 versus 2,96/100,000). Brazil, for example, has 1.66 neurologists per 100,000 inhabitants.
 
“In many areas particularly hit by Zika virus there is a clear lack of neurological resources, a shortage of neurologists, in particular also child neurologists, a lack of neurophysiological testing possibilities, and scarce intensive care facilities,” says Prof Shakir: “If we do not overcome these problems there shall be more unnecessary deaths which would not have happened if the affected individuals would have lived in less deprived parts of the world.”  “Management for the Zika virus infection is already straining health systems in affected regions, and there is a serous lack of financial resources available,” Prof England adds.
 
Broad expertise and geographic distribution
 
The WFN Work Group on Zika virus represents a broad range of specialized neurological expertise, it includes child neurologists, specialists for infections in neurology as well as experts on GBS and other neuro-immunological diseases.  The 18 members of the group represent several regions of the world, including most affected countries such as Brazil, Honduras, Mexico or Columbia.
 
Members of the Work Group will, in the course of the next months, contribute to important upcoming meetings devoted partly or entirely to the current developments, such as the International Child Neurology Congress (May 2-5 in Amsterdam), or a meeting of 7 Central American countries, to promote research and prevention (May 5-6 in Honduras). Zika virus will also be high on the agenda of the World Health Assembly on 28 May.
 
“It will be very important that we are also involved in the work on the ground. Of course, increased surveillance, enhanced mosquito control, development of reliable diagnostic tests, and vaccine development are priorities right now. We will also need to find answers to most urgent questions such as: how prevalence is developing as the virus spreads; if there are specific risk factors influencing the development of neurological symptoms; why Zika virus appears to have such a strong association with GBS and potentially other immune-mediated diseases of the nervous system”, Prof England states. “There are many questions that still need further research and further data, and many of these questions will become even more relevant with a view to the upcoming Olympics with thousands of athletes and visitors travelling to Brazil. Collaborative interdisciplinary research on Zika infection and its neurological complications is being organised, but funding is severely lacking at this stage. As an important first step to enhance research collaboration and provide for transparent data sharing, the Neurovirus Emerging in the Americas Study (NEAS, www.neasstudy.org) is being organized. The situation is rapidly evolving; therefore, all information is subject to modification as we learn more about this emerging crisis.”
 
Note to editors: Members of the WFN Work Group on Zika are available for interviews, please contact Birgit Kofler at the WFN Press Office (see also www.wfneurology.org/committees?tab=16080). Additional information on the neurological dimension of the Zika virus epidemic, including a comprehensive Q&A, will also soon be available athttp://www.wfneurology.org/. 

Elsevier crea un centro de servicios de información sobre el virus Zika

Reuniendo todos sus recursos, la opinión de los especialistas y la mejor y más reciente evidencia científica

• Esta nueva herramienta gratuita y digital contiene multitud de estudios médicos, consejos de expertos y recursos online rigurosos y actuales

• La página web está diseñada para profesionales sanitarios, gestores, población general y medios de comunicación que tengan dudas y quieran saber más sobre el virus 

• Esta iniciativa permanecerá en funcionamiento durante el tiempo que la alerta permanezca activa, y la información contenida se actualizará a medida que se vaya generando más información científica de calidad sobre el tema