'Strong scientific consensus' emerges on Zika link to disorders: WHO

Gleyse Kelly da Silva holds her daughter Maria Giovanna, who has microcephaly, near their house in Recife (Copyright Reuters 2016)

GENEVA – Researchers are now convinced that the Zika virus is linked to microcephaly in babies and to Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological disorder that can weaken the muscles and cause paralysis, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

"Based on observational, cohort and case-control studies, there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika virus is a cause of GBS (Guillain-Barre Syndrome), microcephaly and other neurological disorders," the agency said in a weekly update on the mosquito-borne virus that is spreading across Latin America and the Caribbean.