Although Zika causes no harm in most people it infects, its possible role in
clusters of microcephaly in babies and Guillain - Barré syndrome in adults led the World Health Organization on 1 February to declare that it is a «public health emergency of international concern.»
In tandem with the declaration, the committee made two major recommendations: Standardize surveillance for
microcephaly and other neurological disorders in places where Zika is spreading, and intensify research to discern whether the
clusters of cases are truly linked to the virus.