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February 2, 2016

World Health Org. Declares Zika an International Public Health Crisis
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The World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus an
international public health emergency. While the virus itself is usually
not life-threatening, it appears to be linked to microcephaly, which
causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads. Microcephaly also
causes a host of other health problems, including seizures,
developmental delays, hearing loss and vision problems. The WHO says the
Zika virus is "spreading explosively" and that up to 4 million people in
the Americas could be infected by the end of this year. World Health
Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan spoke out at a news
conference in Geneva.

Dr. Margaret Chan: "I am now declaring that the recent cluster of
microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities reported in Latin
America, following a similar cluster of French Polynesia in 2014,
constitutes a public health emergency of international concern."

Scientists have linked rising temperatures from global warming to the
increased incidence of mosquito-borne infections such as Zika.


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