Mounting Evidence Draws WHO to Advise Pregnant Women Against Travel to Zika-Epidemic Areas

Due to the rapid spread of Zika virus in many countries, the World Health Organization initially warned pregnant women to stay away from these areas. But as the evidence for Zika link to microcephaly grows, WHO has now advised pregnant women not to travel to areas affected by the Zika virus outbreak.

"Pregnant women should be advised not travel to areas of ongoing Zika virus outbreaks," the UN agency said in a statement released after an emergency committee meeting on the rapid spread of the mosquito-borne virus.

‘As evidence shows that Zika virus can cause microcephaly, WHO has now advised pregnant women not to travel to Zika-epidemic countries.’

Previous WHO guidelines called for pregnant women to be warned of the risk of travel to Zika-hit areas.

WHO noted that the link between Zika and microcephaly, a severe deformation of the brain among newborns, has not yet been definitively proven.

But WHO chief Margaret Chan told reporters that "we do not have to wait until we have definitive proof" before advising pregnant women against travel.

"Microcephaly is now only one of several documented birth abnormalities associated with Zika infection during pregnancy," she said.

"Grave outcomes include fetal death, placental insufficiency, fetal growth retardation, and injury to the central nervous system," she added.

Chan described the latest research on Zika as "alarming," including growing evidence that the virus causes the severe neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

Source: AFP