“Counter-Terrorism Conference-2016”

Address by the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee on the Occasion of inauguration of the “Counter-Terrorism Conference-2016”

1.         I am delighted to be amidst you this evening at the inauguration of the 2nd edition of the Counter-Terrorism Conference organised by the India Foundation in collaboration with Government of Rajasthan. It is heartening to note that this conference has brought together field operatives, senior officials from security agencies, policy makers, scholars and government leaders involved in counter-terrorism operations, planning and sensitization to discuss ways of tackling global terror outfits.

2.         Peace is the primary objective of rational consciousness as well as a moral universe. It is the foundation of civilization and a necessity for economic success. And yet, we have never been able to answer a simple question: why does peace remain so elusive? Why has peace been so much more difficult to attain than conflict? These are the questions we need to ponder upon, both as a civilization and as a society.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

3.         As the twentieth century closed down with a remarkable revolution in science and technology, we had some reason for optimism in the direction of peace and prosperity. That optimism has faded in the first fifteen years of this century. There is unprecedented turbulence across vast regions, with alarming increase in regional instabilities. The scourge of terrorism has reshaped war into its most barbaric manifestation. No corner in the world is now safe from this savage monster. 

4.         Terrorism is inspired by insane objectives, motivated by bottomless depths of hatred, instigated by puppeteers who have invested heavily in havoc through the mass murder of innocents. This is war beyond any doctrine, a cancer which must be operated out with a firm scalpel. There is no good or bad terrorism; it is pure evil. 

5.         Terrorism is undoubtedly the single gravest threat that humanity is facing today. Whether in Paris or Pathankot, terrorist attacks on democracies are attacks against fundamental values of liberty, freedom and universal brotherhood. Terrorism is a global threat which poses an unprecedented challenge to all nations. No cause can justify terrorist acts. It is imperative that the world acts in unison against terrorism, without political considerations. Therefore, there is a need to take a resolve to not justify terrorist means whatever be the reason or the source. 

6.         Till the end of the 20^th century, terrorism had regional or national connotations. With the emergence of first Al-Qaeda and now IS, those boundaries have shattered. Non-state actors are trying to be the State themselves, spreading radical ideologies across societies, using technologies to the fullest extent to attract youth. In such a scenario mere political and military strategies will not suffice. We need to take social, economic, religious and psychological aspects into consideration. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

7.         In the history of terrorism, the terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001, is certainly a watershed moment. That moment defines the genesis of modern-day counter terrorism in the international context. From that single incident have flowed most of the interventions in the counter-terrorism sphere that we   see happening at the international level as also at the regional and domestic levels. Faced with the spectre of terrorism, the Western world has undertaken a lot in terms of strategy and tactics and has achieved results also. We need to carefully examine and learn lessons from the success and failure of these strategies.

8.         We may, at the same time, do well to remember that South Asia has been facing terrorist violence since decades in various forms. There is a peculiar nature to this terrorism. To counter that, South Asian countries, including India, have developed certain capabilities. We need to similarly discuss and deliberate on the effectiveness of these strategies and how these have impacted on our counter – terrorism capabilities.

9.         An important aspect of counter-terrorism strategy is capacity building to prevent attacks through intelligence collection and collation, development of technological capabilities, raising of Special Forces and enactment of special laws. Though we have evolved certain mechanisms in this direction, there is scope for further intensifying these efforts.

10.       Counter terrorism is generally considered to be about tactics, weapons, force levels and intelligence gathering. While these things are important the predominant focus has to be on the political management of terrorism.  This includes addressing issues of ideology and dealing with countries that sponsor or support terrorism. It is imperative that the world in one voice  rejects all manifestations of terrorism, without distinction, and proscribes States that support or sponsor terrorism as an instrument of State policy.

11.       We cannot also forget the fact that civil society is both the frontier and the battleground which has to be protected and saved. Fragmentation of civil society, rather than its consolidation, is not a wise strategy. The former course leads to radicalization, which thereafter leads to competitive violence. Think tanks and civil society organizations have a larger role to play in this process of social integration. A pluralistic and inclusive society like India has long presented a model for multi-cultural living. It is for this reason that global terror outfits have not been able to find traction in India.  We have, as a nation, to strengthen that plurality so that it acts as a bulwark against radical ideologies and thought processes.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

12.       These aspects highlight the fact that there is a need for comprehensive strategies and greater international cooperation to ward off future threats. Our counter-terrorism effort has to be more pointed, more focused, more objective and more professional. While doing so there will always be a dilemma of whether we are threatening individual liberties or human rights. We have, therefore, to be judicious in protecting larger freedoms and democratic values. We need to fight this scourge at all levels- through shaping of public opinion, society building and evolving a concerted and integrated counter- terrorism policy premised on international cooperation in intelligence sharing. Needless to say, it also entails taking concerted action to shut down the financial networks that support and sustain terrorism.

13.       I am confident that this conference shall deliberate on the challenges posed by global terror outfits, and examine the possibility of sharing capabilities with a view to combating larger dimensions of this threat.  With these few words, I conclude. I wish you and the deliberations of the Conference all success. 

India Signs an Agreement to Become an Associate Member State of European Molecular Biology Organisation

India Signs an Agreement to Become an Associate Member State of European Molecular Biology Organisation

India through the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology signed a Cooperation Agreement to acquire the status of the Associate Member State European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO).  This would strengthen scientific interaction and collaborative research between India and Europe in this field. After the signing of an agreement with Singapore by EMBC in July 2015, India will now become second such country outside the European region.

EMBO is an organization of more than 1700 leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences. The major goals of the organization are to support talented researchers at all stages of their careers, stimulate the exchange of scientific information. The movement was started in 1964 as European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC) and subsequently it got intergovernmental funding.  More information on the organisation is at www.embo.org

With this India as an EMBC Associate Member State, researchers working in India are now eligible to participate in all EMBO programmes and activities. Indian scientists can apply to EMBO’s programmes, such as long-term fellowships for postdoctoral researchers, short-term fellowships, courses and workshops, as well as the EMBO Young Investigator Programme. At the same time, Europe will benefit from networking with the top-level scientists in India’s research community.

The official kick-off launch ceremony of the agreement was held in New Delhi, India today (4 February 2016). Scientific presentations were made by Nobel Laureates Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Ada E. Yonath to mark the occasion.

To mark the occasion, Professor Maria Leptin, Director of EMBO said - “For the past five years, we have been promoting international interactions beyond Europe, and India is one of our prime partners. I am extremely pleased that India is going to be an Associate Member of EMBC and I look forward to India being able to access EMBO activities. Many European researchers have established scientific connections in India. No doubt these will be strengthened further once more tools and formal opportunities for interactions are available.”

Professor K. Vijay Raghavan, Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for the Government of India, who signed the agreement: “India is rapidly growing into a position where we are making extraordinary demands on ourselves. India can only succeed if we partner with the best everywhere to bring the best here.” He added: “Through EMBO, we will not only have the excellent joint programmes that benefit India and Europe, but we hope to be a magnet that attracts bright young people to science from in- and outside India.” 

Professor Gerrit van Meer, President of the EMBC, remarked: “All member states welcome the exchange with Indian scientists that this agreement will bring. We look forward to seeing transcontinental projects spanning India and Europe grow in future.”

An EMBO-led delegation of ten researchers is in India now to visit various institutes across the country and meet with Indian scientists and government representatives.

This newly forged cooperation will build upon already existing links between Indian and European scientists. In 2015, 10 Indian postdoctoral researchers received an EMBO Long-Term Fellowship to work in Europe and eight India-based scientists received the EMBO Short-Term Fellowship. A satellite symposium focusing on research in India has been an integral part of the annual conference The EMBO Meeting.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan Visits the National Centre for Cell Science

Dr. Harsh Vardhan Visits the National Centre for Cell Science

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, visited the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), an autonomous institute funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, on 3rd February, 2016. He was accompanied by Shri Jayant Sahasrabuddhe, National Organising Secretary, Vijnanabharati. Dr. Arvind Duggal, Adviser, DBT, was also present on this occasion.

The Minister toured the Microbial Culture Collection (MCC), the third largest facility of such a kind in the world. While acknowledging the expanded efforts made by MCC in exploring and preserving the rich microbial biodiversity of India, he stated that that the facility should carry out more focussed research in one or two areas.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan asked for a comprehensive plan to be presented to DBT and the Ministry of Science and Technology, outlining a road map for carrying out such focused research and for sharing the cutting-edge facilities available at MCC. The Director of NCCS, Dr. Shekhar Mande briefed the Minister about the several contributions made by NCCS in the national
interest and some of the new initiatives planned such as establishing an induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) bank, development of patient-derived cell lines from the Indian  population and mapping of the human gut micro-biome of the Indian population.

The Minister noted that since its inception in1988, NCCS has been at the forefront of cutting-edge research indiverseareas of modern cell biology, especially those addressing paramount issues
related to human health, such as cancer, diabetes and other metabolic diseases, infectious diseases and regenerative medicine. He was especially pleased to learn that NCCS has not only been actively engaged in productive basic research, but has also been contributing towards the betterment of society through other means, such as by generating high-quality human resources through its educational and training programmes, transferring its technologies to public hospitals and through outreach activities.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan later visited some of the laboratories of NCCS and the animal cell repository of NCCS, where he interacted with the scientists, students and staff. During his visit to this national facility, he acknowledged the enormity of the task of supplying cell lines to many institutions across the country.

Engaging Myanmar as it moves to democracy

Economic and strategic imperatives both demand building close ties

Last year, Burmese political icon and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi told an Indian television network: “If the National League for Democracy (NLD) wins the elections and we form the government, I am going to be the leader of that government, whether or not I am president.” On Monday, she stood on the cusp of fulfilling that promise with the historic inauguration of Myanmar’s first civilian-dominated parliament in half-a-century. The process of Myanmar’s political transformation that started—hesitantly—with 2010’s allegedly managed elections and gathered steam with more convincing elections in November last year is now well underway.

Reportedly, Suu Kyi has avoided triumphalism in the wake of the NLD’s convincing victory. She has good reason. Multiple challenges await her. Pushing towards a resolution of ethnic conflicts is one. For another, she may soon hold power through a proxy president, but the military junta that ruled Myanmar from 1962 to 2010—and continued to dominate the political landscape during the subsequent nominally civilian dispensation headed by former general Thein Sein—will not be returning to the barracks anytime soon. The NLD’s overwhelming majority of about 80% of the elected seats in the legislature will be offset in part by the 25% block of both parliaments reserved for the military and the military’s continued hold on ministries like defence, home affairs and border affairs.

The NLD consequently finds itself in the unenviable position of needing to deliver strongly on the promise of democratic rule in order to maintain public support and buttress itself against military interference—while being constrained by the military’s continued political role. That means sustaining the promising 8.5% economic growth of 2014-15 when Myanmar’s July floods have led the World Bank to forecast a moderation to 6.5% for 2015-16.

That makes the potential of India-Myanmar economic links all the more important. Unsurprisingly, despite easing ties with the military junta in 1993—an admirable display of pragmatism—New Delhi has failed to invest the required political will and energy in the relationship. ONGC Videsh Ltd and GAIL (India) Ltd both have stakes in Myanmar’s Shwe offshore gas field and India has invested in English-language training, agriculture and the IT sector. But China, accounting for 42% of the over $33 billion of foreign investment in Myanmar between 1988 and 2013, is leagues ahead. It has bankrolled a host of infrastructure projects from oil and gas pipelines—strategically important for Beijing, allowing it to ship oil straight from the Indian Ocean, bypassing the Strait of Malacca choke point—to ports and dams.

But with that investment has come a popular backlash within Myanmar. The Chinese model of economic engagement is seen as exploitative; land confiscation, forced relocation and cross-border influx of cheap goods and labour have all made China unpopular. The opening up of Myanmar as sanctions were eased and border incidents have also led to a cooling of relations between Beijing and Myanmar’s generals—its strongest backers—over the past few years.

That and the new administration now in place in Naypyidaw mean this is New Delhi’s best chance yet to begin rectifying its past lack of initiative. Its Look/Act East policies, carried across administrations since the 1990s, all but demand it—Myanmar is the gateway to South-east Asia. The capacity and institution building it has done so far, along with cultural links, mean it enjoys a positive perception across the border. That advantage must be exploited with infrastructure initiatives that benefit the Burmese people—such as the India-Myanmar-Thailand highway, bus and rail links, the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor and power transmission lines—alongside energy sector investment.

The economic and strategic benefits of such investment—the two are intertwined—extend to boosting development in India’s North-east and cooperation with Myanmar in combating insurgent groups operating in the region. The cross-border raid in June last year targeting the Khaplang faction of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland and the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup is a case in point.

Naypyidaw will seek to extract all it can from the relationship and play Beijing against New Delhi for best advantage, of course. Suu Kyi’s visit to the former last year and her public statements about Myanmar serving as a bridge between China and India indicate as much. It’s time New Delhi upped its game.

Can India overcome China’s advantage in Myanmar? 

A decade of MGNREGA

The relevance of MGNREGA in rural areas goes beyond its success in creating public employment and its impact on wages

This week, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) completes a decade of existence. The Act came into force on 2 February 2006 covering only the 200 poorest districts of the country and was expanded to cover all rural areas of the country from April 2008. This is the largest programme of its nature for providing employment in rural areas anywhere in the world.

In the short span of 10 years that the Act has been in existence, it has generated 19.86 billion person-days of employment benefitting 276 million workers, with more than half the jobs going to women workers and almost a third to members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. These numbers are staggering by themselves but what is relatively less known is the impact of MGNREGA on several other aspects of the rural economy, such as wages, agricultural productivity and gender empowerment. While most critics lament the quality of assets created under MGNREGA, there is now increasing evidence based on rigorous studies, which suggest that not only has the asset quality been better than comparable government programmes, they are also used more by the community. An anthology of research studies on MGNREGA (MGNREGA Sameeksha) was brought out by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2012 and a follow-up by the current government last year.

However, a proper evaluation of the impact of MGNREGA has to go beyond the standard metrics of programme evaluation. The achievements of the programme in terms of its impact on rural demand, political participation, women’s empowerment and improvement in rural infrastructure are hard to quantify, but are visible to anyone who has been tracking developments in rural India. And it is these that have been crucial in sustaining the demand for the programme, despite efforts to downsize it. While these were important drivers of the buoyancy in rural economy during the UPA regime, MGNREGA has emerged as an important intervention by the current National Democratic Alliance government during a period of severe distress in the rural economy.

However, the improvement in performance of the MGNREGA in the latter half of last year has come too late. Even with the improvements, the current year’s performance indicators are much less than the performance of the programme in 2009-10 or in 2010-11. The UPA, which to its credit legislated the Act, has also been responsible for the programme losing steam after 2010. Not only was there a cutback in funds available for MGNREGA, there were attempts to change the nature of the programme from essentially demand-driven to supply-driven.

The result was a sharp decline in employment generated, which fell from 2.84 billion person-days in 2009-10 to 1.66 billion person-days in 2014-15. This was also the case with the average number of days of employment provided, which fell from 54 person-days per household in 2009-10 to just 40 person-days per household in 2014-15. Whereas seven million households completed 100 days of employment in 2009-10, it was down to only 2.5 million in 2014-15.

This was largely a result of a decline in funds made available to MGNREGA, which fell not only in nominal terms after 2009-10, but also in real terms, by more than half by 2013-14 compared with the peak years of 2009-10. This happened at a time when the wage rates in rural areas were increasing at more than 5% per annum since 2009-10. To add to the problems, the administrative reforms in MGNREGA were designed to keep the poor and vulnerable out of the programme, with insistence on technological quick-fixes. The net result of these financial and administrative measures was a decline in participation in the programme, a classic case of discouraged worker syndrome.

However, the relevance of MGNREGA in rural areas goes beyond its success in creating public employment and its impact on wages. MGNREGA has played a much larger role in revitalizing the labour market in rural areas. Not only has it led to the creation of a class of workers who are using the MGNREGA as a safety net, but these workers are also able to use it as a bargaining tool for extraction of higher wages. There is consensus that it did play a role in the acceleration in wage rate growth after 2008, directly through upward pressure on wages and tightening of the supply of casual labour to the market and indirectly through the pressure on the state governments to increase minimum wages. Although to a lesser extent, there is also evidence that it did lead to a slowdown in rural-urban migration along with contributing to an increase in agricultural productivity through the creation of rural infrastructure.

While the attempt of the current government to revive the MGNREGA is welcome, it is difficult to attribute it to any change in perception towards the scheme. Not only have the last two budgets of the NDA government failed to increase the budget for MGNREGA, there was hardly any effort to address the issues of delay in wage payments or improving the financial flow to the lowest functionaries until late last year. However, better late than never. The rebound in demand for work from MGNREGA is a clear indicator of the need of MGNREGA. More so in a situation of rural distress, where the rural economy has not only suffered back-to-back droughts but the decline in agricultural commodity prices has led to declining agricultural incomes. The fact that wages in rural areas have been stagnant in real terms since November 2013 has also contributed to the rural distress. Given the severe stress in the rural economy, reviving MGNREGA will not only require strengthening the administrative structure of the programme but also financial support to make it truly demand-based. This budget is not just an opportunity to reverse the years of neglect by financial infusion in MGNREGA, it may also be the only opportunity to revive the rural economy.

9 questions about the Zika virus

9 questions about the Zika virus 

The Zika virus was first discovered in the 1940s, though most people had never heard of it until this year. That's because for decades, Zika outbreaks were sporadic and tiny, and the disease seemed to do little harm.

That changed in 2015. A massive outbreak in Brazil — affecting more than 1 million people — has changed our view of the mosquito-borne virus. Scientists are learning that Zika may actually be a lot more dangerous than anyone thought, potentially damaging the brains of fetuses and causing incurable and lifelong health and cognitive problems. In light of this evidence, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency on February 1.

Meanwhile, the virus has been spreading throughout the Western Hemisphere at a rapid rate, carried by a type of mosquito that feeds on and thrives alongside humans. More than 20 countries are currently battling outbreaks, and Zika is expected to reach nearly every corner of the Americas this year (save for Canada and Chile, which aren't home to the mosquito in question). Odds are you'll be hearing a lot more about Zika in the coming weeks and months.

1) I'd never heard of Zika. Is it a new virus?

Zika is actually an old virus — it's only recently that health experts have been seriously worried. It was first discovered in 1947 when it isolated from monkeys in the Zika forest in Uganda. And for decades thereafter, it barely bothered humans.

Prior to 2007, there were only 14 documented Zika cases. But then the first big outbreak erupted on Yap island in Micronesia, with 49 confirmed cases. And from there, the virus was on the move.

Soon cases popped up in other Pacific Islands, including a large outbreak in 2013-'14 in French Polynesia (388 cases). By May 2015, health officials had detected the virus in Brazil — possibly arriving with a traveler to the World Cup. Within a year, more than a million people in Brazil had been affected, as mosquitoes carried it from person to person as they do diseases like malaria and yellow fever.

Zika has since spread to more than 20 countries — mostly concentrated in Central and South America and the Caribbean — and it's expected to go much further.

2) What happens if you get Zika?

A rash from Zika. (Emerging Infectious Diseases)

It really depends.

One of the things that makes Zika very difficult to track is the fact that in the vast majority of cases, it causes no symptoms at all. Most people who get infected don't even realize it — and therefore never seek medical attention. They can, however, still transmit the disease if they are bitten by a mosquito that then bites someone else.

Meanwhile, a minority of Zika patients — roughly 20 percent — show relatively minor symptoms: a low-grade fever, sore body, and headache, as well as red eyes and a body rash. More rarely, this might include abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea. These symptoms usually appear two to 12 days after a bite and go away within a week. Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon.

But that's not the whole story. In rare occasions, Zika seems to cause really serious problems.

In both the Brazil and French Polynesia outbreaks, researchers noted that some people infected with the virus were later diagnosed with Guillain-Barré, a rare and sometimes deadly neurological condition in which people's immune systems damage their nerve cells, leading to muscle weakness and even paralysis. The symptoms can last weeks, months, or even years.

Even more worryingly, there's evidence that Zika is linked to a terrible birth defect called microcephaly, which is characterized by a shrunken head and incomplete brain development. (You can read more about microcephaly in our explainer here.)

Javier Zarracina/Vox

Since Zika arrived in Brazil in 2015, more than 4,000 cases of microcephaly have been reported — a twentyfold increase from previous years.

The timing appears to be no coincidence. The virus been found in the amniotic fluid of pregnant women carrying babies with the birth defect, and even in the brains of babies with microcephaly who died within 24 hours of being born. 

What's more, reanalyses of the data from previous outbreaks, such as one in theFrench Polynesian islands in 2013-'14, revealed a rise in birth defects following the arrival of Zika.

But this is not a closed case. Researchers are still working to confirm the link — could it be something else that's causing the microcephaly? — and there are major questions about the frequency of the condition. As the health ministry in Brazil works to confirm the suspected cases, they're discarding more than they're confirming. (As of January 29, of the 4,180 reported cases, 270 have been confirmed and 462 thrown out. Only six of the confirmed cases have been linked to Zika so far.)

Still, Zika wouldn't be the first virus to cause microcephaly. (Rubella famously caused an epidemic of birth defects before the advent of the vaccine.) And even if this turns out to be a very rare complication of Zika, the imperfect evidence alone was enough to prompt the World Health Organization to issue a rare global public health emergency declaration.

3) What are pregnant women supposed to do about Zika?

Javier Zarracina/Vox

The difficulty with Zika is that many people who get the virus are never diagnosed — yet it might still potentially damage fetuses.

This fact has put pregnant women and would-be moms in an awful bind. In some places in Latin America, women are being told to avoid having children for months or even years because of Zika. This isn't easy: In many of these countries, family planning is nonexistent, condoms are out of reach for some, and abortion is illegal.

Meanwhile, American women who are pregnant have been advised to stay out of countries where the Zika virus is circulating. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also issued guidance on how to care for pregnant women during a Zika outbreak, and whether to get tested for Zika. (See our graphic above.)

If you're trying to get pregnant, proceed with caution if visiting these areas. The CDC recommends consulting your doctor before your trip and following steps to prevent mosquito bites during the trip.

If you'd like to get pregnant in the more distant future, however, there appears to be no need to worry. Zika virus does not seem to pose a risk of birth defects for future pregnancies. As best researchers can tell, the virus clears itself from the body pretty quickly, remaining in the blood for only about a week after infection. (If you're traveling to a place with Zika and worried, read our travel explainer.)

4) How exactly is Zika spread?

Zika is mainly carried by a specific type of mosquito called Aedes aegypti, which spreads the disease through bites.

There's some experimental evidence suggesting the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) can transmit the virus, too. This is a worry because the Aedes albopictushas a much larger range in the United States, reaching at least 32 states. 

The Aedes aegypti mosquito. (Wiki Commons)

What makes the Aedes aegypti a unique threat is that it is remarkably effective at carrying viruses — it's also the primary vector of the yellow fever, dengue, and chikungunya viruses.

Aedes mosquitoes are incredibly well adapted to thrive alongside humans. They can breed and rest in small pools of water and moist environments around people's homes. (You can see examples of the mosquito's main aquatic habitats here, ranging from rain-filled cavities in trees to outdoor pots and animal drinking pans.) This is different from other types of mosquitoes, which prefer larger bodies of water.

Mosquitoes may not be the only way to spread Zika. There have been two studies in the medical literature that suggest Zika can be sexually transmitted. In one case, a man who traveled to Senegal and contracted Zika gave it to his wife through intercourse after he returned home. In another, Zika was isolated from semen.

Researchers aren't sure how long Zika can remain in semen. And it's not clear how common sexual transmission actually is. Right now the evidence is pretty limited. For this reason, the CDC hasn't issued any warning yet about the risk.

6) Is there any vaccine or cure?

No. Until recently, Zika didn't seem to pose much of a threat to human health. So research on the virus has been extremely limited. This outbreak has spurred funding and attention on Zika science, and the WHO has called for researchers to develop a vaccine for Zika as well as better diagnostic testing to detect the virus. This, however, will likely take years.

7) How can we stop more Zika outbreaks?

Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), just called Zika a global public health emergency. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Since Zika is carried by mosquitoes and there's no vaccine, the best way to prevent outbreaks is to prevent mosquitoes that carry the virus from biting people.

Health officials can treat certain bodies of water with larvicide to eliminate mosquito breeding sites. They can also spray adult mosquitoes with fumigation to kill them off.

Since Aedes mosquitoes prefer small bodies of water around people's homes, there are also important and effective measures that individuals can take to limit mosquitoes' habitats, says Janet McAllister, a researcher in the division of vector-borne diseases at CDC.

"Just generally keeping your yard clean and in shape, getting rid of debris or things stored outside that can hold water, or adjusting them so that they no longer hold water," McAllister says. "It's also important to maintain the vegetation in your yard — to keep the grass mowed and bushes trimmed, with good air flow." Campaigns to clean up people's yards and work sites, and instituting tire pickup programs (old tires are a popular breeding place).

Inside the home, the CDC recommends making sure you have screens on windows and doors that aren't punctured in any way. Wearing protective clothing, using insect repellents, and keeping your house cool with air conditioning also helps.

Finally, one controversial method of controlling mosquitoes would be to usegenetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that can essentially help sterilize the population. But it's not entirely clear that this will be a panacea, and if human's past battles with mosquitoes are any indication, killing them off won't be easy.

8) Why did the outbreak in Latin America spiral out of control so quickly?

Javier Zarracina/Vox

There are a number of reasons that seem probable, and others that will come into focus as we learn more about the outbreak.

First, because Zika didn't seem to pose much risk to humans, this virus wasn't exactly on the world's watch list. It wasn't even a reportable disease in the US, meaning doctors who found cases didn't have to alert the CDC as they would with other serious diseases. In other words, health authorities weren't anticipating an outbreak of Zika, and therefore were caught unprepared.

Second, Zika had never been recorded in the Western Hemisphere until it hit Easter Island off Chile in 2014. That means people living in the Americas are susceptible to the virus, since nobody has built up the antibodies from previous infections to fight it off.

Third, Aedes mosquitoes live all over Latin America. Couple that with the fact that many people live in communities that are perfectly hospitable to these insects: There's little air conditioning and window screens (to keep mosquitoes out) as well as poor sanitation and a lack of access to clean water (so people store water around their homes). In this environment, it makes sense that Zika has "spread explosively."

Not to mention that the spread of Zika is actually part of an unnerving trend: Several mosquito-borne tropical illnesses (dengue, chikungunya) have lately been spreading into regions of the world that have never experienced them. Researchers don't fully understand why this is happening, but they suspect the increasing popularity of global travel and the warming of the climate have something to with the change.

9) Will Zika spread in the United States?

(Javier Zarracina/Vox)

So far, local transmission of Zika virus has not been identified in the continental United States, but there have been cases in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. And travelers returning to a number of states have tested positive for the virus.

Officials are predicting that Zika is likely to follow the same pattern as dengue fever in the United States — reaching Puerto Rico first, followed by outbreaks in Florida and other Gulf Coast states, and maybe Hawaii — all regions where the Aedes aegyptimosquitoes live. Most likely, an outbreak would start like this: A traveler carrying the virus would return to a place with the Aedes aegypti, and the mosquito would pick up the virus and infect others through bites.

But there's at least some good news: Outbreaks here are expected to be small and local.

"Better housing construction, regular use of air conditioning, use of window screens and door screens and state and local mosquito control efforts helped to eliminate [mosquito-borne infections like malaria] from the mainland," said Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC's division of vector-borne diseases, in a recent statement. These conditions will likely protect Americans, but they aren't present in many developing countries, which suggests Zika will be with us for a long time to come.

Zika virus

Global health officials say the Zika virus, linked to severe birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil, is spreading rapidly in the Americas and could infect 3 million to 4 million people. The race is on to develop a Zika vaccine.

Here are some questions and answers about the virus and the current outbreak.

How do people become infected?

The virus is transmitted to people through the bite of infected female Aedes mosquitoes, the same type of mosquito that spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found.

How do you treat Zika infection?

There is no treatment or vaccine available for Zika infection. Companies and scientists are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine for Zika, but one is not expected to be ready for months or years.

How dangerous is it?

The PAHO said there is no evidence that Zika can cause death but some cases have been reported with more serious complications in patients with pre-existing medical conditions.

The virus has been linked to microcephaly, a condition in newborns marked by abnormally small heads and brains that have not developed properly. It also has been associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the nervous system. Scientists are studying whether there is a causal link between Zika and these two disorders.

How is Zika related to microcephaly?

Health officials have yet to establish a direct causal relationship between Zika virus infection and birth defects, but it is strongly suspected. Brazil has reported 3,700 cases of suspected microcephaly that may be linked to Zika. It is unclear whether in pregnant women the virus crosses the placenta and causes microcephaly. Research in Brazil indicates the greatest microcephaly risk appears to be associated with infection during the first trimester of pregnancy.

What are the symptoms of Zika infection?

People who get Zika virus disease typically have a mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain and fatigue that can last for two to seven days. But as many as 80% of people infected never develop symptoms. The symptoms are similar to those of dengue or chikungunya, which are transmitted by the same type of mosquito.

How can Zika be contained?

Efforts to control the spread of the virus focus on eliminating mosquito breeding sites and taking precautions against mosquito bites such as using insect repellent and mosquito nets. US health officials have advised pregnant women to avoid travel to Latin American and Caribbean countries where they may be exposed to Zika.

How widespread is the outbreak in the Americas?

The World Health Organization said Zika cases have been reported in 23 countries and territories in the Americas in the current outbreak. Brazil has been the nation most affected. Other nations and territories include Barbados, Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Suriname, Venezuela and the US Virgin Islands, according to the PAHO.

What is the history of the Zika virus?

The Zika virus is found in tropical locales with large mosquito populations. Outbreaks of Zika virus disease have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Southern Asia and Western Pacific. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys and was first identified in people in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania, according to the WHO.

Can Zika be transmitted through sexual contact?

One case of possible person-to-person sexual transmission has been described but the PAHO said more evidence is needed to confirm whether sexual contact is a means of Zika transmission.

The PAHO also said Zika can be transmitted through blood, but this is an infrequent transmission mechanism. There is no evidence the virus can be transmitted to babies through breast milk.

What other complications are associated with Zika?

The WHO says because no big Zika outbreaks were recorded before 2007, little is known about complications caused by infection. During an outbreak of Zika from 2013-2014 in French Polynesia, national health authorities reported an unusual increase in Guillain-Barre syndrome. Health authorities in Brazil have also reported an increase in Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Long-term health consequences of Zika infection remain unclear. Other uncertainties surround the incubation period of the virus and how Zika interacts with other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes such as dengue.