UN to decide if Zika virus is a global health emergency
Posted January 28, 2016 7:38 am.
Last Updated January 28, 2016 8:20 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
GENEVA – The World Health Organization says it is convening an emergency committee on Monday to decide if the Zika virus outbreak should be declared an international health emergency.
At a special meeting on Thursday, WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said the virus — which has been linked to birth defects and neurological problems — was “spreading explosively.” Chan said although there was no definitive proof that Zika was responsible for a spike in the number of babies being born with abnormally small heads in Brazil, “the level of alarm is extremely high.”
WHO last declared an international emergency over the devastating 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which ended up killing more than 11,000 people.
