Health Ministry to issue guidelines regarding Zika virus today

Jaipur : As “ZIKA has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO)”, the Union Health Ministry will issue guidelines regarding Zika virus by Tuesday evening, said Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda at the Regional Editors Conference here.

Zika is mosquito-borne virus, which is linked to birth defects in America. The UN health agency yesterday convened an emergency meeting of independent experts in Geneva to assess the outbreak of the virus. The meeting was convened after noting a suspicious link between Zika’s arrival in Brazil last year and a surge in the number of babies born with abnormally small heads.

WHO estimates there could be up to four million cases of Zika in the American continents in the next year, but no recommendations were made to restrict travel or trade.