'Strong scientific consensus' emerges on Zika link to disorders: WHO

Published April 01, 2016

Gleyse Kelly da Silva holds her daughter Maria Giovanna, who has microcephaly, near their house in Recife (Copyright Reuters 2016)

Researchers are now convinced that the Zika virus is linked to microcephaly in babies and to Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological disorder that can weaken the muscles and cause paralysis, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

"Based on observational, cohort and case-control studies, there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika virus is a cause of GBS (Guillain-Barre Syndrome), microcephaly and other neurological disorders," the agency said in a weekly update on the mosquito-borne virus that is spreading across Latin America and the Caribbean.