--- title: Zika Virus: WHO Declares Public Health Emergency description: The World Health Organization declared the spread of Zika and an associated birth defect an international public health emergency Monday, freeing funds to combat the... canonical: https://time.com/4202499/who-zika-public-health-emergency/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-01T18:31:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T19:23:04.000Z article:section: Health og:title: Zika Virus: WHO Declares Public Health Emergency og:description: The World Health Organization declared the spread of Zika and an associated birth defect an international public health emergency Monday, freeing funds to combat the... og:url: https://time.com/4202499/who-zika-public-health-emergency/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte06f76e16804580a/69887b970b72e305276e7eb7/mosquito-aedes-aegypti-san-jose-costa-rica-zika-virus.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4096 og:image:height: 2304 og:image:alt: Zika virus spread has WHO considering global health emergency og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Zika Virus: WHO Declares Public Health Emergency twitter:description: The World Health Organization declared the spread of Zika and an associated birth defect an international public health emergency Monday, freeing funds to combat the... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte06f76e16804580a/69887b970b72e305276e7eb7/mosquito-aedes-aegypti-san-jose-costa-rica-zika-virus.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # WHO Declares Zika an International Public Health Emergency > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Updated: Dec 13, 2023 7:23 PM UTCPublished: Feb 1, 2016 6:31 PM UTC  The Aedes Aegypti mosquito photographed in San Jose, Costa Rica on Jan. 30, 2016. The Aedes Aegypti mosquito photographed in San Jose, Costa Rica on Jan. 30, 2016. Jeffrey Arguedas—EPA  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Updated: Dec 13, 2023 7:23 PM UTCPublished: Feb 1, 2016 6:31 PM UTC The World Health Organization declared the spread of [Zika](http://time.com/4197899/zika-who-americas-spreading/) and an associated birth defect an international public health emergency Monday, freeing funds to combat the disease. “This is an extraordinary event,” said WHO Director General Margaret Chan at a press conference Monday. “It poses a public health threat to other parts of the world and a coordinated international response is needed.” Chan cited the pattern of the disease’s spread, the lack of a vaccine, and the large global population of mosquitoes that can carry the virus as factors that contributed to the declaration. The declaration, only the fourth in WHO’s history, comes just days after the organization said the [total number of cases](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-zika-who-idUSKCN0V61JB) could hit 4 million by the end of the year. The virus has spread rapidly throughout the Americas infecting people in more than 20 countries. Officials in Brazil, the hardest hit country, have estimated 1.5 million infections. WHO was criticized for waiting months after an Ebola outbreak hit West Africa to declare an international public health emergency in 2014. Officials noted that their concerns center around a possible relationship between Zika and [microcephaly](http://time.com/4202473/microcephaly-birth-defect-zika/), a birth defect characterized by shrunken heads and brain damage, and not Zika itself. The Zika virus, first discovered in 1957, was thought to be harmless for decades before the link with microcephaly emerged in recent months. Countries across North and South America have taken precautions to stem the spread for the virus. [El Salvador](http://time.com/4193747/el-salvador-zika-virus-pregnancy/) called on women in the country to hold off on pregnancy for two years. The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued [travel warnings](http://time.com/4180718/zika-virus-pregnant-women-travel-warning-cdc/) for much of Latin America telling pregnant women to avoid the area. 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