Race to develop Zika virus vaccine and tests

Suspected links between the Zika virus and two neurological disorders, microcephaly in babies and Guillain-Barre syndrome, should be confirmed within weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

A sharp increase in birth defects in Brazil has triggered a global health emergency over the mosquito-borne virus and spurred a race to develop a vaccine and better diagnostic tests.

The WHO said US government scientists and an Indian biotechnology firm were currently frontrunners in the race to develop a vaccine and for the first time it advised pregnant women to consider delaying travel to zika-infected areas.