More resources are urgently needed to fight the spread of the zika virus in the Americas and the apparently related increase in microcephaly and other complications, the director of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) told ministers of health on Wednesday in a meeting convened by the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), in Montevideo, Uruguay.
All countries in the Americas need to allocate new resources to step up mosquito control efforts, prepare their health services for an increase in demand, carry out public education campaigns and track the spread of Zika and increases in suspected complications of the virus, including microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.