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W.H.O. Recommends Contraception in Countries With Zika Virus W.H.O. Recommends Contraception in Countries With Zika Virus
(about 2 hours later)
The World Health Organization issued a strong call on Thursday for the use of contraception in countries with the Zika virus, and said that women who had unprotected sex and feared infection should have access to emergency contraception and pregnancy counseling — measures that could place the global health agency on a collision course with the Roman Catholic Church. The World Health Organization issued a strong call on Thursday for the use of contraception in countries with the Zika virus, and said that women who had unprotected sex and feared infection should have access to emergency contraception, a recommendation that may not sit well with the Roman Catholic Church.
The Zika virus has torn through Latin America and is now in more than 20 countries. It is mostly spread by mosquitoes, and the main fear is that it may cause birth defects if pregnant women contract it. A few cases of sexual transmission have been documented, and the new guidelines were issued to prevent that. The Zika virus has torn through Latin America and is now in more than 25 countries. It is mostly spread by mosquitoes, and the main fear is that it may cause birth defects if pregnant women contract it. A few cases of sexual transmission have been documented, and the new guidelines were issued to prevent that.
But the rules seemed to go further than preventing transmission by sex, and thrust the agency into tricky territory. Many Latin American countries — including Brazil, now ground zero for the virus — are predominantly Roman Catholic. Zika has reignited difficult debates in those countries about abortion and, in some cases, birth control, as some governments have advised women to delay getting pregnant. The new recommendations are likely to complicate that dynamic even further, as some of them directly contradict the long-term teachings of the Catholic Church. But the guidelines seemed to go further than preventing transmission by sex.
For example, the health agency’s recommendation that women who have had unprotected sex and fear pregnancy because of Zika should have “ready access to emergency contraception services and counseling” is a reference to the morning-after pill and pregnancy counseling services, which, in many countries, could include abortion services. (A spokeswoman for the W.H.O. could not immediately clarify if abortion services were part of the recommendation.) For example, the health agency’s recommendation that women who have had unprotected sex and fear pregnancy because of Zika should have “ready access to emergency contraception services and counseling” is a reference to the morning-after pill. Health officials later clarified that the recommendation for counseling applied only to emergency contraception, not to broader pregnancy services, which in some countries could include abortion services.
Many Latin American countries — including Brazil, now ground zero for the virus — are predominantly Roman Catholic. Zika has reignited difficult debates in those countries about abortion and, in some cases, birth control, as some governments have advised women to delay getting pregnant. The new recommendations are likely to complicate that dynamic further, as some of them directly contradict the long-term teachings of the Catholic Church.
But Jaime Nadal Roig, the United Nations Population Fund’s representative to Brazil, said in a phone call with reporters on Thursday that emergency contraception was part of Brazilians’ health insurance packages and that he did not think the recommendation would be controversial in that country. He said reproductive health services were being increased as part of the response to the virus, but that about 6 percent of Brazilian women who wanted contraception still did not have access to it.
The agency also explicitly recommended using condoms, something that Pope Francis, in remarks to journalists on Thursday, tacitly condoned given the exceptional circumstances Zika has presented. But he flatly ruled out condoning abortion.The agency also explicitly recommended using condoms, something that Pope Francis, in remarks to journalists on Thursday, tacitly condoned given the exceptional circumstances Zika has presented. But he flatly ruled out condoning abortion.
Abortion is a highly contentious issue in much of Latin America, which also has fast-growing numbers of evangelical Christians, but where birth control is more accepted. Many people in Brazil, the region’s largest nation and the country with the world’s largest Roman Catholic population, pay little heed to the church’s teachings on birth control, and the authorities there regularly distribute free condoms. Contraception is still available, though with some restrictions, in less socially liberal countries in Latin America. Abortion is a highly contentious issue in much of Latin America, which also has fast-growing numbers of evangelical Christians, but birth control is more accepted. Many people in Brazil, the region’s largest nation and the country with the world’s largest Roman Catholic population, pay little heed to the church’s teachings on birth control, and the authorities there regularly distribute free condoms. Contraception is also available, though with some restrictions, in less socially liberal countries in Latin America.
The health agency noted that most people infected with Zika do not have symptoms, and so recommended that men and women returning from Zika-affected countries use birth control or “consider abstinence for at least four weeks after return.” The health agency noted that most people infected with Zika do not have symptoms, and so recommended that men and women returning from affected countries use birth control or “consider abstinence for at least four weeks after return.”
In other efforts to address the virus, the World Bank pledged $150 million on Thursday to help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean affected by the Zika outbreak. It also released initial estimates that the epidemic would have only a modest cost for the region: $3.5 billion, or 0.06 percent of the area’s combined economic output. Marcos Espinal, director of the Communicable Diseases and Health Analysis Department at the Pan American Health Organization, said in a call with reporters that five countries had experienced a rise in Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological condition that can cause temporary paralysis and has been associated with the Zika virus: Brazil, Colombia, Suriname, El Salvador and Venezuela. But only Brazil has seen a rise in the birth defect known as microcephaly, he said. He added that Colombia could begin to see a rise in microcephaly cases in June if scientists are right about mosquito movements and the link between Zika and the birth defect.
The estimates assume that there will be a “swift, coordinated international response” to the epidemic, and that the greatest health risks are for women of childbearing age. However, if scientists confirm a link between Zika and Guillain-Barré syndrome (a rare neurological condition that can cause temporary paralysis) or find that Zika can be transmitted sexually on a large scale, or if public anxieties rise sharply, the economic damage could be “significantly larger,” the World Bank said. In another effort to address the virus, the World Bank pledged $150 million on Thursday to help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean affected by the Zika outbreak. It also released initial estimates that the epidemic would have only a modest cost for the region: $3.5 billion, or 0.06 percent of the area’s combined economic output.
In costs as a share of economic activity, the countries hit hardest could be Belize, Cuba, Jamaica and Dominica, which rely on tourism. Although Brazil is the center of the epidemic, the World Bank estimated that Zika would cost it only $310 million in income, one-hundredth of 1 percent of the country’s economy.