PAHO issues an alert about the Zika virus threat, urging countries in the region to be on the lookout for the disease and to watch for unusual patterns in newborns.
December 3rd, 2015** There has been an unusual rise in microcephaly in Brazil’s hardest hit Zika virus regions
** Brazil’s health ministry is reporting a twentyfold increase in microcephaly cases compared to previous years.
** 1,248 cases reported in Brazil.
** French Polynesian health authorities have also reported an unusual increase in central nervous system malformations in babies born during a Zika virus outbreak on the islands from 2014 to 2015.
** Brazilian officials are also reporting neurological complications in other Zika virus patients, primarily Guillain-Barre syndrome.
** Guillain-Barre syndrome has also been seen in French Polynesian patients who had suspected Zika virus infections.
** There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika virus infection.
