Zika removed as high-level threat by World Health Organization

On Oct. 18, 2018, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) announced that the World Health Organization (WHO) has removed its Zika virus country classification scheme, which categorized most of the Caribbean territories as having active Zika virus transmission. CARPHA evidence revealed that the Zika virus transmission in the Caribbean had been interrupted for over 12 months, or was at undetectable levels, thereby posing very little risk to residents and visitors to the Region. Accordingly to CARPHA, this was matched by data shared with them by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the European Centres for Disease Control (ECDC) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC), which showed that no Zika had been detected for over 12 months in travelers returning from the Caribbean to their countries.

For further information on Zika virus and its circulation in the region, you may visit the CARPHA website or view the release from the Caribbean Public Health Agency.