human
What is the current news on the Zika virus?
assistant
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that the Zika virus outbreak is a global health emergency. It is estimated that up to 4 million people in the Americas have been infected with the virus, and there have been over 2,000 reported cases of microcephaly associated with Zika infection during pregnancy. Scientists are still trying to understand how the virus causes birth defects, but they believe it may be due to its ability to infect cells in the developing brain.