Journal offering free Zika resources for health care workers

London – In an effort to help protect health care workers who work with patients carrying the Zika virus, the journal BMJ has released a set of free online resources.

The free resources include question-and-answer links featuring common patient concerns, an interactive timeline showing the spread of the virus, fact sheets and guidance from organizations such as the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and links to resources in Spanish and Portuguese.

In addition, BMJ will waive its publishing charges for selected manuscripts with the goal of allowing researchers to share information as quickly as possible.

Journal staff stated that it plans to provide updated resources as more information becomes available.

“By making all the latest resources from across BMJ’s products and services freely available, we are joining the global efforts to help doctors, academics and healthcare professionals to rapidly understand and respond to the global emergency associated with the Zika virus,” Fiona Godlee, editor in chief of BMJ, said in a press release.