Pursuits
Zika `Spreading Explosively' in Americas as WHO Raises Alarm
- World Health Organization will convene emergency meeting
- U.S. is talking with companies about vaccine partnerships
How Quickly Is the Zika Virus Spreading in Brazil?
This article is for subscribers only.
Zika virus, a mosquito-borne pathogen that may cause birth defects when pregnant women are infected, has been “spreading explosively” in South and Central America, the head of the World Health Organization said Thursday.
“The level of alarm is extremely high,” WHO director general Margaret Chan said Thursday in a statement. Chan said she will convene an emergency meeting on Feb. 1 in Geneva to consider whether to declare the outbreak a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern,” which can coordinate government responses to direct money and resources at the virus.