AKIPRESS.COM - The World Health Organization has declared the mosquito-borne Zika virus outbreak in the Americas a public health emergency.

Labelling the Zika threat a "public health emergency of international concern" is meant to prioritize resources immediately to curtail further spread.

On Monday, WHO director general Dr. Margaret Chan said the potential link between Zika virus and clusters of babies with microcephaly — an unusually small head that is associated with incomplete brain development — warranted the declaration because of its heavy burden on families and communities.

"After a review of the evidence, the committee advised that the clusters of microcephaly and other neurological complications constitute an extraordinary event and public health threat to other parts of the world," Chan said.

WHO officials say it could be six to nine months before science proves or disproves any connection between Zika and the spike in the number of babies born in Brazil with abnormally small heads.

Chan said she made the decision based on advice of experts who weighed information from Brazil, the United States, El Salvador and France, which reported on a similar cluster in French Polynesia in 2014.

No recommendations were made to restrict travel or trade.