WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Available evidence indicates that the Zika virus causes congenital brain abnormalities including microcephaly and the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) that have been reported in connection with the current outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The most likely explanation of available evidence from outbreaks of Zika virus infection and clusters of microcephaly is that Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of congenital brain abnormalities including microcephaly," the statement said.
Additionally, the available evidence from outbreaks of the virus and GBS in whole populations is that Zika triggers the neurological disorder, WHO explained.
The statement refined the WHO’s March 31 assessment that there was "strong scientific consensus" that Zika causes GBS, microcephaly and other neurological disorders.
The current Zika outbreak began in Brazil in the spring of 2015. The virus is believed not to cause serious complications in healthy adults.
On February 1, the WHO declared that microcephaly and other neurological disorders in Zika-affected areas constituted a public health emergency of international concern.
