WHO declares Zika Virus health emergency of international concern.
The World Health Organization declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency on Monday, following a recommendation by a committee of independent experts.
“I am now declaring that the recent cluster of microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities reported in Latin America following a similar cluster in French Polynesia in 2014 constitutes a public health emergency of international concern,” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said on Monday.
WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan: #ZikaVirus & #microcephaly situation is a Public Health Emergency of Intl Concern #alert
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) February 1, 2016
The mosquito-borne virus that is believed to have recently caused thousands of birth defects in Brazil requires an international coordinated response, Chan said.
However, no restrictions on travel or trade are necessary, she added.
