WHO declares Zika virus public health emergency

An alarming assessment from the World Health Organization.
(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The World Health Organization declared the mosquito-borne Zika virus a "public health emergency of international concern" Monday, ABC News reports.

The virus, which experts have traced back to Brazil, has been linked to a birth defect in babies. Zika has spread to several Central and South American countries, and dozens of cases have been reported in the U.S. from people who had traveled to the region recently.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up
Latest Videos FromThe Week
Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.