The Aedes aegypti mosquito which transmits the Zika virus (image: Sanofi Pasteur ).
The explosion in the number of Latin American cases of microcephaly – a congenital condition associated with maldevelopment of the brain – has become an international emergency due its “strongly suspected” link with the rapidly spreading Zika virus, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The WHO has called for urgency in finding a vaccine and better diagnostics, and has urged the world to be alert.
Researchers of infectious diseases are still trying to understand how Zika in pregnant women causes congenital malformation. “Everyone agrees on the urgent need to coordinate international efforts to investigate and better understand this relationship,” said Margaret Chan, the head of the WHO.
