2015–16 Zika virus epidemic

The deadly Zika virus could spread to the central Anatolian region of Turkey in seven years, Turkish Health Ministry has stated in a recent report.

U.S. health officials have concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies. 

Google on March 3 said that it is working with UNICEF to map the spread of Zika and pitching in a million dollars to support the group's efforts on the ground.

Scientists on March 1 said they had confirmed that the Zika virus sweeping Latin America and blamed for severe birth defects can also trigger a dangerous neurological disorder.

Joint teams of U.S. and Brazilian health workers will fan out across one of Brazil's poorest states Feb. 23 in search of mothers and infants for a study aimed at determining whether the Zika virus is causing babies to be born with unusually small heads.

Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry has advised the country's citizens to exercise caution when visiting parts of South America afflicted by mosquito-transmitted diseases.

The Serbian Ministry of Health is in daily contact with the World Health Organization and the relevant bodies when it comes to the Zika virus.

It is implementing all preventive measures, Serbian Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar said in Belgrade on Wednesday.

More than 3,100 pregnant Colombian women are infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Feb. 6, as the disease continues its rapid spread across the Americas. 

There are 25,645 people infected with Zika in Colombia, Santos said during a TV broadcast with health officials. Among them are 3,177 pregnant women. 

Ireland’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) confirmed that two people affected by Zika virus.

One case is in a man and the other in an older woman, but both have recovered from the infection, BBC reports.

They both have a history of travel to a Zika affected country, while the HSE has said the cases are unrelated.

A small Australian maker of bug sprays became an unlikely beneficiary of the mosquito-borne Zika virus outbreak this week when the country's Olympic team signed it up as its first official insect repellent sponsor.