(TRUNEWS) The World Health Organization said they are alarmed over the number of Zika cases popping up. As many as 4 million people may be infected worldwide.
Director Dr. Margaret Chan said Zika virus had gone “from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions,” according to the BBC. The group has set up a team to decide if the epidemic should be treated as an emergency. They will meet Monday.
The virus was detected in 1947 in Uganda, and is spread through mosquitoes, but Zika has just become an epidemic. Pregnant travelers in the U.S. are urged to reconsider going to infected areas.
In Brazil, more than 2700 babies were born last year with microcephaly, which may be caused by the Zika virus, but it has not been confirmed. In adults, the Zika virus may induce paralysis.
Officials in Brazil and other Latin American countries have urged women not to get pregnant. Abortion numbers are going up, as reported by TRUNEWS.
Zika is carried in a particular type of mosquito found mostly in South America, but RT has reported one of the Aedes Aegypti mosquitos has been spotted recently in Britain. The virus may have also spread to another, more common Culex mosquito, according to Sky News.
A researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz foundation in Brazil said the implications are big, if it is confirmed the Culex is now carrying Zika virus.
The post WHO calls for emergency meeting over Zika virus appeared first on TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles.
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