Zika virus spreads to more countries

In quickly evolving developments, more countries in the Americas reported Zika virus cases, as Brazil—one of the hardest hit countries—reported more microcephaly cases, which health officials suspect might be related to infections in pregnant women. In a pair of updates, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) weighed in on the spread of mosquito-borne Zika virus to more countries and the possible connection to complications, which may also include Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and congenital neurological malformations. Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it has been notified of Zika virus infections in Guatemala and El Salvador, with infectious disease news sources flagging foreign language media reports suggesting that illnesses have been detected in Paraguay and Venezuela. Zika virus infections, spread by Aedes mosquitoes, have rapidly spread to new parts of the Americas since 2014 and continues to sicken people in other parts of the world. Symptoms are similar to dengue fever,...