2016 Zika virus

Reports of an illness with symptoms including fevers and rashes began to surface in Brazil in February 2015. The virus continued to spread throughout Brazil, and in July neurological effects, including Guillain-Barré Syndrome, began to be reported; particularly noteworthy was unusually high incidence of newborn microcephaly reported in October and November. Much of Central and South America and the Caribbean was affected by early 2016. The WHO declared the outbreak a PHEIC in February. Response efforts focused on controlling populations of mosquito vectors, heightening surveillance, and supporting research. Additionally, the WHO as well as the United States and Canada provided relief funding, shared medical and laboratory resources, and deployed public health personnel to the affected regions. The PHEIC was officially ended in November 2016. By that time, a total of over 500,000 suspected and over 170,000 confirmed autochthonous cases, as well as about 5,000 imported cases, had been reported in the Americas. Furthermore, over 2,000 cases of congenital Zika syndrome were confirmed.