The spread of Zika virus across the Americas and
its suspected link to birth defects is a public health emergency of
international concern and deserves urgent attention, the World Health
Organization said Monday.
"I am now declaring that a recent cluster of
microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities reported in Latin
America following a similar cluster in French Polynesia in 2014
constitute a public health emergency of international concern," WHO
director general Dr. Margaret Chan told a news conference.
WHO said last week that Zika was spreading "explosively" across the Americas and predicted 3-4 million people could be infected within a year.
It would not have been of concern -Zika normally causes only mild
symptoms at worst - but Brazil noted a marked increase in cases of a
severe and devastating birth defect called microcephaly that coincided
with Zika's arrival. Some doctors also fear the virus may cause a
paralyzing condition called Guillan Barre syndrome.
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Source: NBC News
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