Zika virus cases drop in Brazil: WHO

Brasilia – The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that the number of Zika virus cases has begun dropping.

However, the agency on Monday warned it still expected cases around the world to sharply rise in the coming months, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to WHO’s assistant director-general Marie-Paule Kieny, the drop in Zika cases in Brazil is due to the end of summer, with mosquitoes thriving less in colder temperatures. There are also drops of the Zika cases in Colombia and Cape Verde.

No precise numbers for this drop are released but the Brazilian government has admitted that Zika has been reported in all its states, totalling more than 1.5 million cases, and more than 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly in babies.

Image provided by Brazil’s Presidency shows Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (3rd L) talking with residents of the Zepelin Community, during Zika Zero National Mobilization Day(Xinhua/Roberto Stuckert Filho/Brazil’s Presidency) (jp) (fnc)