WHO addresses Zika fears as more microcephaly findings surface | CIDRAP

"The World Health Organization (WHO) today released a comprehensive backgrounder on Zika virus issues related to childbearing-age women, covering reports of sexual transmission and contraception resources, as researchers promised open data sharing and reported new Zika-related microcephaly findings. So far this week the number of Zika-affected countries and territories in the Americas has remained stable at 26, but global health officials expect the outbreak to expand, even to parts of the continental United States. In a risk assessment update earlier this week, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said 21 countries are experiencing increasing or widespread transmission, most of them in the Americas ... Thirty-three of the world’s major medical groups and journals signed a statement committing to open data sharing in Zika virus and future public health emergencies, according to a statement today posted on the Wellcome Trust Web site. Signatories include the CDC and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  The group said the statement is designed to ensure that information useful for battling the Zika virus outbreak is shared with the international community free of charge as soon as possible. Several of the signatories were medical journals, which are assuring researchers that early release of findings won't preclude subsequent journal publication ..."