The World Health Organization on Saturday "rejected a call for the Rio Olympic Games to be moved or postponed due to the threat posed by a large outbreak of Zika virus in Brazil," according to Kate Kelland of REUTERS. Responding to a call from more than 100 leading scientists, who said it would be unethical for the Games to go ahead as scheduled, the United Nations health agency said having the Games in Rio as planned would "not significantly alter" the spread of Zika, which is linked to serious birth defects. The WHO said in a statement, "Based on the current assessment of Zika virus circulating in almost 60 countries globally and 39 in the Americas, there is no public health justification for postponing or cancelling the games." The letter, sent to WHO Dir-General Margaret Chan, said that the Games, due to be held in Rio de Janeiro in August, "should be moved to another location or delayed." But the WHO rejected the call, saying Brazil "is one of almost 60 countries and territories" where zika has been detected and that people continued to travel between these countries and territories for a variety of reasons. It said, "The best way to reduce risk of disease is to follow public health travel advice" (REUTERS, 5/28).
