Zika virus 'spreading explosively,' upto 4 million people under threat
The Zika virus is ‘spreading explosively’ in the Americas, the head of the World Health Organisation said on Thursday, as the global health body warned that it expected up to four million cases of the disease.
WHO chief Margaret Chan called for an emergency meeting on February 1 on the outbreak of the virus, which has been blamed for the birth defect microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with an abnormally small head.
"The level of alarm is extremely high," Chan said, adding that the meeting of WHO's Emergency Committee on Monday will seek to determine if the outbreak qualifies as an international public health emergency.
The virus ‘is now spreading explosively,’ in the Americas, where 23 countries and territories have reported cases, the WHO chief said.
Marcos Espinal, head of communicable diseases and health analysis at WHO's Americas office, said the region should expect ‘three to four million cases’ of Zika, without proving a timeframe for the outbreak to ramp up to that level.
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