WHO declares Zika an International Public Health Emergency

The World Health Organization declared the spread of Zika and an associated birth defect an international public health emergency Monday, freeing funds to combat the disease.

“This is an extraordinary event,” said WHO Director General Margaret Chan at a press conference Monday.

“It poses a public health threat to other parts of the world and a coordinated international response is needed.”

Chan cited the pattern of the disease’s spread, the lack of a vaccine, and the large global population of mosquitoes that can carry the virus as factors that contributed to the declaration.

Read more at: Time