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WHO: SEXUAL TRANSMISSION OF ZIKA MORE COMMON THAN THOUGHT

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BY JAMEY KEATEN AND MARIA CHENG
ASSOCIATED PRESS

GENEVA (AP) — Sexual transmission of the Zika virus is more common than previously thought, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, citing reports from several countries.

After a meeting of its emergency committee on Tuesday, the U.N. health agency also said there is increasing evidence that a spike in disturbing birth defects and neurological problems are caused by Zika, which is mostly spread by mosquito bites. When WHO declared the explosive outbreak in the Americas to be a global emergency last month, it said that the evidence that Zika was responsible was only circumstantial.

https://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_MED_WHO_ZIKA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-03-08-13-44-17