The biggest USA message is for pregnant women to avoid traveling to Zika-affected areas. But there has been mounting evidence linking the virus to a surge of a rare birth defect in Brazil.
“It seems indeed that the link with Zika (and microcephaly) is becoming more and more probable, so I think that we need a few more weeks and a few more studies to have this straight”, Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation, told a news briefing. It’s possible that Zika could be spread by kissing, says Richard Watkins, M.D., an infectious disease specialist at Cleveland Clinic Akron General Hospital in OH, but scientists don’t know for sure. It is also possibly linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological condition that can cause muscle weakness and paralysis. The Hillary Clinton campaign is calling for quick action in Florida to prepare for the likelihood that the travel-related Zika virus will spread. The World Health Organization has declared it an global health emergency, claiming it could affect as many as 4 million people in the Americas with the next 12 months.

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