WHO expects to set link between Zika and microcephaly in weeks, vaccine 18 months

Vanessa, 32, feeds her daughter Valentina who is 5-months old and born with microcephaly, with a bottle under a mosquito net, inside their house in Jaboatao, near Recife, Brazil, February 12, 2016. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

GENEVA/LONDON (Reuters) - The suspected link between the Zika virus and two neurological disorders, the birth defect microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome, could be confirmed within weeks, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday.

A sharp increase in microcephaly cases in Brazil has triggered a global health emergency over the mosquito-borne virus, which had previously been viewed as causing only a relatively mild illness, and spurred a race to develop a vaccine, medicines and better diagnostic tests.