Zika: We must be ready for the long haul. Commentary. 1 February 2. On 1 February 2. 01. I declared that the Zika outbreak sweeping through the Americas was a public health emergency of international concern. That was not an easy call.
But looking back, it was the right one. At that time, the disease itself, long dismissed as an obscure medical curiosity, could hardly be described as “extraordinary”, which is the principal requirement for declaring an international health emergency. In the decades between its discovery in Uganda in 1. Americas, only a few human cases of Zika virus were reported. The 1. 8 international experts who advised me in the Zika emergency committee had additional, though inconclusive, evidence to draw on. In 2. 00. 7, Zika left its ancestral home to cause its first outbreak, on Yap Island in the western Pacific Ocean.
That outbreak was surprising, but ultimately reassuring. Although almost three- quarters of the population were infected with Zika virus, only about 1. None of the cases required hospitalization, and the outbreak ended after just three months. Having demonstrated its ability to spark an outbreak, Zika did so again in French Polynesia from 2.
Though all cases were mild, doctors were puzzled by a disturbing uptick in cases of Guillain- Barr. Was this just a coincidence, or was something more sinister at work? By the start of 2. Brazil with tiny heads.
T he cost of holiday essentials in a number of popular long-haul destinations is lower than it was a year ago thanks to a fall in prices abroad, according to new. 18 Wheels of Steel American Long Haul is a truck simulation game for Windows. Transport cargo across the USA, Canada and Mexico with over 30 trucks and trailers. As Brexit puts Ireland's main agri-food market at risk, growing exports to non-EU destinations is more important than ever, European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil. But Norwegian Air Shuttle, which specializes in low-cost.
We all heard the tragic stories of their distraught mothers and the bleak outlook projected for their babies. The possibility that a mosquito bite during pregnancy could cause severe neurological damage in babies deeply alarmed the public, but also astonished scientists.
They asked: Why only now, and why only in Brazil? At the time, Brazil was also experiencing large outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya. Could the three viruses somehow interact, in an amplifying way, to damage babies in the womb?
Could something in the environment of northeastern Brazil, the epicentre of the outbreak, be partly responsible, perhaps a chemical or a natural toxin? No one had firm answers. Fortunately, experts on the emergency committee could draw on some brand new evidence. In an elegant piece of detective work, a retrospective investigation of the outbreak in French Polynesia unearthed findings strongly suggesting a link between Zika infection during pregnancy and microcephaly in newborns. Now it wasn’t “only Brazil” anymore.
A year ago, when I declared an international health emergency, it was this suspected link between Zika infection and microcephaly and other neurological complications that, according to my advisers, turned the outbreak into an “extraordinary” event. Zika also satisfied two further criteria relevant to declaring a public health emergency of international concern. As few populations had any immunity to this previously rare disease, the virus could spread, unchecked, like wildfire, sparked by the volume of international air travel.
Any area that hosted the competent mosquito species, Aedes aegypti, was considered at risk – a geographical area estimated to comprise nearly half the world’s population. With so many people at risk and so few control tools, the outbreak clearly required a coordinated international response.
Like every other explosive outbreak, Zika revealed fault lines in the world’s collective preparedness. Poor access to family planning services was one. The dismantling of national programmes for mosquito control was another.
One year later, where do we stand? International spread has continued, while surveillance has improved. Some 7. 0 countries and territories in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Western Pacific have reported cases since 2.
The documented consequences for newborns have grown to a long list of abnormalities known as “congenital Zika virus syndrome”. We know that the virus can be sexually transmitted, adding further precautionary advice to women of childbearing age. In terms of prevention, we may not remain so empty- handed for long. In line with WHO advice, some innovative approaches to mosquito control are being piloted in a number of countries, with promising results. Some 4. 0 candidate vaccines are in the pipeline. While some have moved into clinical trials, a vaccine judged safe enough for use in women of childbearing age may not be fully licensed before 2. In November 2. 01.
I lifted the declaration of Zika as a public health emergency of international concern, again on the advice of the expert committee. That, too, was the right call. By then, research had addressed many of the questions that made the disease so “extraordinary” nine months earlier. Some uncertainties remain, but many fundamental questions have been answered. In large parts of the world, the virus is now firmly entrenched.
WHO and affected countries need to manage Zika not on an emergency footing, but in the same sustained way we respond to other established epidemic- prone pathogens, like dengue and chikungunya, that ebb and flow in recurring waves of infection. That is why WHO is creating a cross- Organizational mechanism to provide sustained guidance for effective interventions and support for families, communities, and countries experiencing Zika virus. For the research community, WHO has identified priority areas where more knowledge is urgently needed. We are now in the long haul and we are all in this together.
WHO's strategic planning and commitment to work with partners for sustained interventions and research should go a long way towards bracing the world for this challenging – and still heart- breaking – effort.
Long Haul (G1) - Transformers Wiki. The name or term . For a list of other meanings, see Long Haul (disambiguation). Long Haul is a Decepticon. Constructicon from the Generation 1 continuity family. The problem, as Long Haul sees it, is that he gets all the work and very little of the excitement and the glory that goes with being a Decepticon. He knows his job is important; he'd just much rather be on the front lines fighting shoulder to shoulder with fellow warriors than moving supplies and building installations to make sure those warriors continue fighting.
Long Haul keeps these secret desires to himself though, as he's smart enough to know Megatron is not likely to be sympathetic and has no patience for grunts who question their orders. I didn't join this outfit to be a dump truck! Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4 Roughly nine million years ago, Long Haul and the Constructicons were friends of Omega Supreme in Crystal City on Cybertron. Their engineering skills were permanently turned to evil, however, once Megatron and the Robo- Smasher reprogrammed them into Decepticons. They were also given the combined form of Devastator, making them the physical equal of Omega Supreme in combat.
After they destroyed Crystal City at Megatron's command, the Constructicons earned the everlasting ire of their former friend. The Secret of Omega Supreme. Long Haul was eventually summoned to Earth (built on Earth?) by Megatron and the Decepticons, and joined them in trying to destroy Optimus Prime and the Autobots.
Their first scheme was to supercharge Megatron with the power chip rectifiers of his fellow 'Cons, so that he could defeat Prime in personal combat. Heavy Metal War Though they failed, the Constructicons would be involved in many of Megatron's schemes from then on, such as constructing of New Cybertron in Manhattan, where Long Haul got to carry around debris and paralyzed Autobot leaders. City of Steel. Long Haul was the most long- suffering members of the Constructicons, possibly even more so than Scavenger. He was constantly complaining about wanting a greater role in the group, either as a warrior or an engineer, but was inevitably relegated to . It didn't help his mood any. At one point the Constructicons later built the Transfixatron to paralyze the Autobots in their vehicle modes, along with a metal- munching machine to devour them.
Long Haul complained loudly about his job, but was cheered up when he got to feed Ironhide to the machine. He didn't even mind when the Autobots got loose, since it meant finally getting some action. The Autobot Run. Megatron later had the Constructicons build a giant drill, planning to collect energy from the Earth's core. When an accident was caused by Scavenger's faulty sensors, Long Haul was tasked with loading Mixmaster's mixing drum full of chemicals so that the crazed chemist could do a quick repair job.
He didn't enjoy it one bit. A group of Autobots soon discovered the Decepticons, only to be chased off by Devastator. However, they soon returned with a plan—using dominator disks to take control of Devastator for their own needs.
The Autobot Mirage shot a pair of disks at Long Haul and Mixmaster when they weren't looking, and as soon as the Constructicons formed Devastator shortly afterwards, the Autobots took control of him. Megatron's attempts at regaining his troops eventually led to Devastator going crazy and wrecking the controls to the drill, so Long Haul had to help stop it from breaching the Earth's core and shattering the planet.
The Core. When the other Decepticons were suffering from Cybertonium depletion, Long Haul and the other Constructicons unloaded a shipment of Cybertonium sent by Shockwave. They failed to stop the Dinobots from using the space bridge to go to Cybertron. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1 When the Constructicons deceived Grapple and Hoist into building a Solar Power Tower for them to take over, Long Haul thought he was finally going to get to build something. Hook sent him to carry solar panels around.
The Master Builders Long Haul's greatest claim to fame was abandoning his job of guarding the recently discovered pool of electrum, forcing Dirge to do it by himself. Dirge was then promptly beaten up by Seaspray, and the Autobots gained control of the electrum. The Golden Lagoon. Long Haul later went into space with the other Constructions in order to mine energy from an asteroid. When the Autobots found out, the Constructicons found themselves facing their old pal, Omega Supreme, who broke the entire asteroid in half in his attempts to exterminate Long Haul and the others.
Ignoring the strange alien that . Before Omega Supreme could finish them off, however, he had to leave and deal with the alien. The Secret of Omega Supreme. Long Haul pitched in to build an over- sized maze for Blitzwing, Triple Takeover and the Constructicons later helped Megatron construct one of the most devastating weapons of all time.
Pleased with their work, Megatron dismissed the Constructicons for the day. Long Haul and his crew departed quickly, before Megatron realized they had built the ultimate weapon at the bottom of a deep canyon, making it virtually impossible to aim it at anything worthwhile. Masquerade. In 2. Long Haul and the Constructicons joined in the assault on Autobot City, and their power as Devastator was key to breaching the city's defenses. After the Dinobots arrived, however, Devastator was effectively nullified as the two groups kept each other too busy and out of the rest of the fighting. They joined the other Decepticons in beating a hasty retreat after Megatron fell in battle, and Long Haul was seen carrying the damaged Kickback with him. The Transformers: The Movie.
Following the defeat of Galvatron, the Decepticons sought refuge on the planet of Chaar, where the Constructicons began squabbling over who would take Astrotrain's latest shipment of energon. They combined, but were broken up by Menasor and slinked away. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1. The Constructicons were tasked with modifying an Earth city into the Decepticons' new battle station, Trypticon, and Long Haul got a new colour scheme just for the occasion, cackling about the rude awakening the humans were about to receive. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4 He then shot at an Autobot shuttle when it arrived on Earth with Metroplex's transformation cog, and was petrified by a device that froze all Transformers.
Long Haul was freed when a human destroyed the device. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5. Long Haul participated in building a new engine for Galvatron, only for Ultra Magnus and his squad of Autobots to crash the party. Despite merging into Devastator, the Constructicons were no match for the enormous Broadside. After a crash on Eurythma, Long Haul fought Perceptor and Hot Spot with his teammates.
Carnage in C- Minor He accompanied Galvatron to Paradron and took part in the crossfire, Fight or Flee and as part of Devastator, got his revenge on Broadside during a battle in Japan. Later on, Long Haul witnessed Galvatron and Cyclonus be defeated by a mutated Scourge. The Burden Hardest to Bear.
Japanese cartoon continuity. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers manga. On an island paradise, Long Haul and the Constructicons were performing excavation work for Megatron's new fortress, at the cost of the natural resources and precious animals. The Autobots arrived to stop the Decepticons. Despite their vast power, Trypticon and the combined Devastator failed to defeat the Autobots due to their lack of teamwork, and the Constructicons were knocked back into their component parts. The Autobots forced Long Haul and his comrades to undo the damage they had done to the island.
Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #6. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers story pages. I want to tell you about the Transformers! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their fictional appearances.
You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it. The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers manga. In the year 2. 01.
Long Haul participated in a Decepticon attack on the planet Feminia. He and his team merged into Devastator in order to battle alongside Bruticus and Menasor against their Autobot counterparts Superion, Defensor and Omega Supreme. The fight was fairly evenly matched until Galvatron called up his ace- in- the- hole, Predaking, whose power was unmatched by any of the Autobots..
The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #5. Long Haul only appears as a component of Devastator. Scramble City: Mobilization. Voice actor: Toshio Ishii (Japanese). When the Decepticons learned of the Scramble City project being secretly assembled by the Autobots, Megatron sent his henchmen to interfere with their work. The Constructicons joined Starscream and his flying partners in an attack on the Autobots. Optimus Prime and a task force of Autobots held their position until Long Haul and the Constructicons inevitably joined forces into Devastator.
The Aerialbots gave Devastator a good whippin', though, and the Decepticons retreated. Scramble City: Mobilization. The Headmasters cartoon. Voice actor: Ry. They attempted to prevent Ultra Magnus from sending reinforcements to Cybertron to help the Autobots fend off Galvatron's siege on Vector Sigma.
Long Haul and his squad were ganging up on the Trainbots until Metroplex arrived and shooed them off with his superior firepower. Having failed to stop the Autobot reinforcements from departing, the Constructicons followed them to Cybertron. As Devastator, they tried to shoot Superion in the back, but Optimus Prime foiled their aim, making them hit Abominus instead. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky Devastator was involved in a combiner shootout on Cybertron until the Battleship Maximus arrived and annihilated the Decepticon combiners. The Mystery of Planet Master.