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  WHO Calls Zika Outbreak An International Public Health Emergency

  On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control added American Samoa, Costa Rica, Curaçao and Nicaragua to the list of advisory countries for traveling pregnant women to avoid. World Health Organization says Zika virus has been linked to a sharp increase in birth defects. the defects include a particularly devastating condition known as microcephaly. In addition to birth abnormalities, the Zika virus has also been tied to an uptick in adult neurological disorders such as Guillain-Barré syndrome.

  Wochit News
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  Florida declares Zika virus health emergency

  Nine cases of the Zika virus have been detected in Florida, where conditions are just right for the mosquito-borne virus to spread. Zika has been linked to birth defects when pregnant women are infected. Dr. Jon LaPook has more from the center of the Zika outbreak, Recife, Brazil.

  CBS News
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  World Health Organization Officially Declares Zika Virus a International Emergency

  The World Health Organization has declared the mosquito-borne Zika virus to be an international public health emergency as the disease linked to thousands of suspected cases of birth defects in Brazil spreads rapidly. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan says an international coordinated response is needed to improve detection and speed work on a vaccine and better diagnostics. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention head Thomas Frieden said the declaration "calls the world to action" on Zika. The emergency designation was recommended following criticism of a hesitant response so far. The move should help fast-track international action and research priorities.

  Wochit News

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A pregnant Queensland woman has tested positive to Zika virus after returning from overseas, Queensland Health has confirmed.

The woman was diagnosed yesterday and authorities said the illness was not acquired locally.

It is the third case of Zika virus to be identified in Queensland this year.

In the latest incident, a woman was diagnosed with the disease in south-east Queensland yesterday after recently returning from overseas.

No further information will be released on the latest woman to test positive.

However, Queensland Health said it was a separate case from that of a woman who returned to the Gold Coast from El Salvador in December, who had also tested positive to Zika last week.

Zika is a mosquito-borne illness that has surged through Latin America and has been linked to birth defects in children in the region.

However, a four-year survey in Brazil suggested Zika may not be the cause of microcephaly, which results in babies being born with abnormally small heads.

A statement from Queensland Health said the Federal Government recommended that until more was known about Zika virus, women who are pregnant or those actively seeking to get pregnant should consider postponing travel to any area where Zika virus transmission is present.

Pregnant women who have recently travelled to areas affected and suffered an illness they suspect to be Zika are advised to see a doctor.

The Federal Government has compiled a full list of the relevant countries.

A vaccine for the Zika virus is still years away, US health officials have warned.