WHO Director-General Margaret Chan told reporters on February 1 coordinated international action was needed to improve detection and speed work on a vaccine and better diagnostics for the disease, although curbs on travel or trade were not necessary.
The emergency designation was recommended by a committee of independent experts to the UN agency following criticism of a hesitant response so far. The move should help fast-track international action and research priorities.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan (R) |
"Members of the committee agreed that the situation meets the conditions for a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted this advice," Chan told a news briefing at WHO headquarters.
The WHO said last week the Zika virus, carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, was "spreading explosively" and could infect as many as 4 million people in the Americas. Brazil is due to host the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August.
