In:

Science 

Author:

Gretchen Vogel

It may have sounded like good news. Two weeks ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the Zika epidemic was no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, a designation reserved for acute threats that Zika received in February. WHO’s downgrade came after several months of dropping case numbers.

But as the agency was keen to point out, the change just means that Zika has evolved from a cross-border emergency to another long-term public health challenge that needs the world’s attention. The virus is now firmly entrenched in Latin America, which is already battling several other mosquito-borne diseases.

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