Zika is no longer a public emergency - but it is 'here to stay'

Zika is no longer being considered an international public health emergency.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Friday that the Zika virus and related neurological complications no longer constitute an emergency. Even so, the virus is still around, and the agency said it would continue to work on the outbreak through a "robust program."

The WHO's Emergency Committee, which declared Zika an international public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) in February, said in a statement that "the Zika virus and associated consequences remain a significant enduring public health challenge requiring intense action but no longer represent a PHEIC."

"We are not downgrading the importance of Zika, by placing this as a longer program of work, we are sending the message that Zika is here to stay," Dr. Peter Salama, Executive Director of WHO's Health Emergencies Program, told a news briefing.

Since May 2015, Zika has been spreading around the Americas and the Pacific, and countries and territories are still encountering local transmission via mosquito. On Wednesday, the CDC added Palau to its list of countries and territories with local transmission of the Zika virus.

The Zika virus, which is mainly transmitted by mosquitoes, has been spreading around the Americas and parts of Asia over the past year. It's been identified in the mainland US in Miami, Florida. Once infected, only about 20% of people ever show symptoms, which most commonly include fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes.

One reason this outbreak of Zika has been so troubling is that has been a cause of birth defects, including microcephaly - a condition where the baby's head is abnormally small - in babies whose mothers have had Zika. The virus has also been linked to a neurological condition called Guillain-Barré syndrome.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Andrew Heavens)