Zika virus outbreak spreads across South and Central America, in pictures

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Brazilian officials still say they believe there's a sharp increase in cases of microcephaly and strongly suspect the Zika virus, which first appeared in the country last year, is to blame. The concern is strong enough that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month warned pregnant women to reconsider visits to areas where Zika is present.
The Zika virus is "spreading explosively" in the Americas, the head of the World Health Organization said, as the global health body warned that it expected up to four million cases of the disease. WHO chief Margaret Chan called for an emergency meeting on February 1 on the outbreak of the virus, which has been blamed for the birth defect microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with an abnormally small head.

 

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The virus carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito was first identified in Uganda in 1947 and was unknown in the Americas until 2014. The disease is usually relatively mild but PAHO, the regional arm of the World Health Organization, says it may be linked to cases of brain damage in newborn babies in Brazil.

 

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An Aedes aegypti mosquito photographed through a microscope at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Brazil

 

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.Brazil has been the country hardest hit so far, and concerns are growing about this summer's Olympics, which is likely to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to host city Rio de Janeiro in August

 

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In northeast Brazil, there has been a marked increase in cases of newborn babies with microcephaly. Brazil's health ministry has said the number of suspected cases of microcephaly in newborns increased by about 360 in the 10 days to Jan. 16 to 3,893.

 

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Larvae of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, that transmit the Zika virus, the Dengue and the Chikunguna, at a laboratory in San Jose, Costa Rica

 

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"The level of alarm is extremely high," Chan said, adding that the meeting of WHO's Emergency Committee will seek to determine if the outbreak qualifies as an international public health emergency. The virus "is now spreading explosively," in the Americas, where 23 countries and territories have reported cases, the WHO chief said.

 

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In Brazil, cases of microcephaly have surged from 163 a year on average to more than 3,718 suspected cases since the outbreak, according to the health ministry

 

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Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Jamaica have warned women to avoid getting pregnant for the time being

 

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City workers fumigate the Centro America neighbourhood as part of preventive measures against the Zika virus in San Salvador, El Salvador

 

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Estafany Perreira holds her nephew David Henrique Ferreira, 5 months, who has microcephaly in Recife, Brazil. In the last four months, authorities have recorded close to 4,000 cases in Brazil in which the mosquito-borne Zika virus may have led to microcephaly in infants.

 

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Aedes aegypti mosquitos are seen in a lab at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil

 

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In Brazil municipal officials in Rio de Janeiro said inspectors will begin spraying insecticide around the Sambadrome, the outdoor grounds where thousands of dancers and musicians will parade during the city's February 5-10 Carnival celebrations. Rio's world-famous Carnival celebrations every year attract visitors from around Brazil and the globe.

 

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Grandmother Ivalda Caetano holds Ludmilla Hadassa Dias de Vasconcelos (2 months), who has microcephaly, at Oswald Cruz hospital in Recife, Brazil

 

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A municipal worker stops traffic during an operation to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito in Recife, Brazil

 

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Geovane Silva holds his son Gustavo Henrique, who has microcephaly, at the Oswaldo Cruz Hospital in Recife

 

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Veridiana Silva waits for medical care for her daughter, who has microcephaly, at the Oswaldo Cruz Hospital in Recife

 

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Dr. Vanessa Van Der Linden, the neuro-pediatrician who first recognised the microcephaly crisis in Brazil, examines a 2-month-old baby with microcephaly in Recife

 

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Colombia's health ministry says Zika has already infected 13,500 people across the country and there could be as many as 700,000 cases this year

 

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A health worker shows larvae of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes found inside a warehouse during an operation to combat the mosquitoes that transmits the Zika virus in Recife, Brazil