FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016 file photo, health workers get ready to spray insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmits the Zika virus, under the bleachers of the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, which will be used for the Archery competition in the 2016 summer games. More than 145 public health experts signed an open letter to the World Health Organization on Friday, May 27, 2016 asking the U.N. health agency to consider whether the Rio de Janeiro Olympics should be postponed or moved because of the ongoing Zika outbreak. The letter calls for the games to be delayed or relocated “in the name of public health.” (Photo: AP)
The World Health Organization says there is "no public health justification" for postponing or canceling the Rio de Janeiro Olympics because of the Zika outbreak.
The assessment in a statement early Saturday came after 150 health experts issued an open letter to the U.N. health agency, calling for the games to be delayed or relocated "in the name of public health." They cited recent scientific evidence that the Zika virus causes severe birth defects, most notably babies born with abnormally small heads.
WHO said that "based on current assessment, cancelling or changing the location of the 2016 Olympics will not significantly alter the international spread of Zika virus."
It noted that Brazil is one of almost 60 countries and territories which are reporting transmission of the virus by mosquitoes.
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