Zika no longer a public health emergency, WHO announces

The World Health Organization announced Friday that Zika virus is no longer classified as a "public health emergency of international concern." WHO said that while the mosquito-borne illness is still a "highly significant and a long-term problem," it has determined Zika should be handled, like other mosquito-borne diseases, as "an ongoing problem, not an exceptional situation," The New York Times reported.

"We are not downgrading the importance of Zika. We are sending the message that Zika is here to stay and the WHO response is here to stay," said Peter Salama, executive director of the WHO's emergencies program. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still advises pregnant women to avoid travel to areas with Zika, because of the effects the mosquito-borne virus can have on fetuses.

Since last year, Zika has spread to more than 60 countries and an estimated 2,300 babies have been born with microcephaly, a birth defect tied to the virus that causes abnormally small heads and malformed brains.

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