WHO: Zika no longer a health emergency

The World Health Organization announced that the Zika virus outbreak, linked to deformations in babies' heads and brains, no longer poses a world public health emergency, though it warned the epidemic remains a challenge

A doctor treats a child suffering from microcephaly at a hospital in Brazil. Pic/AFP

Geneva: The World Health Organization announced that the Zika virus outbreak, linked to deformations in babies' heads and brains, no longer poses a world public health emergency, though it warned the epidemic remains a challenge.

Brazil, the epicentre of the outbreak, has however refused to downgrade the risk, while experts swiftly lashed out against the world health body's decision.

The UN's global health agency declared the Zika epidemic a global health emergency in February 2016. Brazil on Friday said it would continue to treat the outbreak as an emergency.

1.5mn
Estimated no. of people infected with Zika virus

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