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| Top Picture : A baby infected with Zika virus resulting to a small unshaped head Bottom Picture: The Aedes aegypti mosquito which transmits the virus |
The World Health Organisation has declared the Zika virus outbreak an international emergency.
It comes amid mounting fears the mosquito-borne disease is linked to birth defects and spreading rapidly.
The World Health Organization said the spread of the Zika virus in Latin America was an "extraordinary event" and there could be up to four million cases in the region this year.
The organisation's chief Dr Margaret Chan said an international co-ordinated response was needed, although restrictions on travel or trade were not necessary.
At the moment, there is no vaccine for the disease and no known cure.
The World Health Organization said " that a surge in cases of microcephaly - where a baby is born with an abnormally small head and brain - was caused by the virus.
The virus cannot be transmitted from person to person, only by mosquito, but claimed the epidemic is worse than believed because in 80% of the cases the infected people have no symptoms.
Zika was first identified in 1947 in a Ugandan forest. and has so far infected over 1.5 million people in Brazil and affected 24 countries.
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