In:

Interim guidance - World Health Organization

Date

March/2016

Zika virus is a flavivirus that is primarily transmitted by infected Aedes mosquitoes. This vector also transmits dengue and chikungunya viruses and is commonly found in tropical and sub-tropical environments in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific. Although Zika virus was first identified in humans in 1952, very few outbreaks were documented prior to 2015. Human infection is often asymptomatic, and symptoms are usually mild and self- limiting. While the usual characteristics of human infection have not changed, the recent association between Zika virus infection and potential congenital microcephaly and Guillain-Barré Syndrome in some affected areas1 has escalated this issue to a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.1-3

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