The World Health Organization on Monday cautioned against instituting travel or trade bans in response to the Zika virus, even as it declared the outbreak to be a public health emergency.
"The committee found no public health justification for restrictions on travel or trade to prevent the spread of Zika virus," WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said in a press conference after a Monday meeting of the organization's emergency committee to discuss the virus.
Scientists believe that Zika is causing an outbreak of microcephaly, or malformations of the head and brain, in the children of women infected while pregnant. The WHO's Monday declaration that the recent outbreak in Central and South America is a public health emergency is only the fourth time the organization has used that designation. It is the body's highest alert level.
The virus is spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitos, and Chan stressed that there are "simple, effective measures we should be taking" to prevent mosquito bites, especially for pregnant women in the afflicted areas.
Dr. David Heymann, the WHO assistant director-general and chair of the Zika emergency committee, said during the press conference that there was a "very clear recommendation from the committee" that travel and trade bans are not necessary at this point in time. In a follow-up statement, the group said its standard recommendations "regarding disinsection of aircraft and airports should be implemented." This practice of spraying an aircraft for insects is meant as a preventative measure to stop the spread of potentially infected mosquitoes to other countries
The WHO most recently gave its public health emergency designation to the Ebola outbreak of 2014 and 2015, which killed over 11,300 people. The organization also cautioned against travel and trade bans during that crisis, warning that bans could not only devastate the economies of the affected countries, but could also hamper the world's ability to track and contain the outbreak.
"In the face of so much uncertainty around this, clearly one wants to exhibit an abundance of caution with respect to the advice that you're giving -- especially to women, especially women that potentially could become pregnant or women that are pregnant," said Dr. Bruce Aylward, the WHO executive director for outbreaks and health emergencies, at a press briefing on Jan. 28. "But at the same time you want to make sure you are not putting in inappropriate measures or advice."
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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