New Virus Spreading Quickly Through The Americas According to recent reports, the World Health Organization is gathering in an emergency meeting to decide how to combat the Zika virus, which is spreading explosively in the Americas. The virus has now been detected in more than 20 countries and territories in the Americas in the months since Brazil reported its first case. The level of alarm is extremely high, Margaret Chan, director general of WHO commented. The group is acting quickly, likely combating criticisms it received from its slow response to the Ebola outbreak more than two years ago. Now, its reported that it could declare an international health emergency following the meeting. The virus is spread by Aedes mosquitoes, and has been linked with a rise in babies with abnormally small heads. It is also linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, where the immune system attacks the nervous system, eventually causing paralysis. A causal relationship between Zika virus infection and birth defects and neurological syndromes has not been established, but is strongly suspected, the WHO confirmed. In part, the emergency meeting is to make sure that nations dont take inappropriate steps to limit travel or trade. During the Ebola outbreak in 2015, many countries closed their borders, causing damage to the economies of West Africa. The disease is spread through mosquitoes, much like malaria and West Nile Virus. The CDC is expected to see additional Zika cases in travels. Testing for Zika is also difficult, given that there are no commercial tests for the virus. In fact, only a handful of labs in the USA can diagnose the infection. There are also no vaccines or treatments for Zika at the moment, though scientists are working on both. In the meantime, doctors plan to use vaccines already in development against the West Nile virus, given that the same mosquito spreads both diseases. 