Zika Virus, Birth Defects Are Health Emergency, WHO Says
- Health officials haven't proven microcephaly, virus link
- WHO not recommending Latin America travel, trade restrictions
A worker fumigates the hallway of a building to eradicate mosquitoes in Caracas, Venezuela.
Photographer: Wilfredo Riera/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
An outbreak of the Zika virus and its potential association with birth defects in South and Central America has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization, a formal step that will begin coordinating government responses.
Margaret Chan, the director-general of the WHO, said that one of the first priorities should be controlling mosquito populations that have spread the virus. Diagnosis and surveillance of the disease’s spread also needs to be improved, the United Nations-affiliated agency said on its official Twitter account.