The World Health Organization on Friday announced an end to the public health emergency of international concern over Zika, though it cautioned that the virus remains a significant and enduring health challenge.
The decision comes nine months after the UN agency first declared an emergency over Zika and its associated complications, which include devastating brain defects in babies infected in the womb and a paralyzing condition called Guillain-Barré syndrome in some people after infection.
Officials stressed, however, that the virus remains a threat wherever it can be transmitted by mosquitoes or through sex with an infected individual and that health officials must not let down their guard.
