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WHO sees scientific consensus on Zika as cause for disorders
Source: Reuters
Life | Thu Mar 31, 2016 4:55pm EDT
WHO sees scientific consensus on Zika as cause for disorders
GENEVA/CHICAGO | BY STEPHANIE NEBEHAY AND JULIE STEENHUYSEN
Researchers around the world are now convinced the Zika virus can cause the birth defect microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.
The statement represented the U.N. health agency's strongest language to date on the connection between the mosquito-borne virus and the two maladies.
The WHO also reported the first sign of a possible rise in microcephaly cases outside Brazil, the hardest-hit country so far in an outbreak spreading rapidly in Latin America and the Caribbean. Neighboring Colombia is investigating 32 cases of babies born with microcephaly since January, and eight of them so far have tested positive for the Zika virus, the WHO said.
"Based on observational, cohort and case-control studies, there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika virus is a cause of GBS (Guillain-Barre syndrome), microcephaly and other neurological disorders," the WHO said on Thursday.
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WHO sees scientific consensus on Zika as cause for disorders
GENEVA/CHICAGO | BY STEPHANIE NEBEHAY AND JULIE STEENHUYSEN
Researchers around the world are now convinced the Zika virus can cause the birth defect microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.
The statement represented the U.N. health agency's strongest language to date on the connection between the mosquito-borne virus and the two maladies.
The WHO also reported the first sign of a possible rise in microcephaly cases outside Brazil, the hardest-hit country so far in an outbreak spreading rapidly in Latin America and the Caribbean. Neighboring Colombia is investigating 32 cases of babies born with microcephaly since January, and eight of them so far have tested positive for the Zika virus, the WHO said.
"Based on observational, cohort and case-control studies, there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika virus is a cause of GBS (Guillain-Barre syndrome), microcephaly and other neurological disorders," the WHO said on Thursday.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-zika-who-idUSKCN0WX2DJ