Public Health Emergency of International Concern second PHEIC was issued in May 2014 with the resurgence of polio after its near-eradication, deemed "an extraordinary event." On Friday, August 8, 2014, the World Health Organization declared its third Public Health Emergency of International Concern in response to the outbreak of Ebola in Western Africa. On Monday, February 1, 2016, the World Health Organization declared its fourth PHEIC in response to clusters of microcephaly and Guillain–Barré syndrome in the Americas, which at the time were suspected to be associated with the ongoing outbreak of Zika virus. Later research and evidence bore out these concerns; in April, the WHO
Health Protection Agency 2013. These four groups are: Microbiology Services, Health Protection Services, Biological Standards and Control, and the Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards. The Division will include the laboratory groups from the Centre for Infections; Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response; the Regional Microbiology Network and their associated supports. The current remit of the Centre includes infectious disease surveillance, providing specialist and reference microbiology and microbial epidemiology, coordinating the investigation and cause of national and uncommon outbreaks, helping advise government on the risks posed by various infections and responding to international health alerts. The Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response