It sent out notices to concerned airport authorities, airline firms and airport medical officials on a Zika virus alert for them to also take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.
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While the World Health Organization has not recommended any travel restrictions at this time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has advised pregnant women to postpone travel to affected areas. A direct link between Zika virus and microcephaly has not been established, but studies continue.
Very few of the microcephaly cases can be attributed to causes other than Zika, after extensive analyses and testing, the health ministry said.
FDA issued on Tuesday new recommendations to reduce the risk of Zika virus blood transmission for individuals who have been to areas with active Zika virus transmission.
There is considerable evidence from prior Zika outbreaks that the virus can be transmitted in the blood.
In the absence of a vaccine against Zika, Brazil is mounting a huge operation to eradicate the mosquito responsible for carrying the virus.
The mosquito-borne virus has been linked to microcephaly, a birth defect that is characterized by an abnormally small head and an underdeveloped brain.
A US pharmaceutical company, Inovio, is now developing a Zika virus vaccine that appears to be effective in mice.
WHO says it has tapped an emergency contingency fund to pay for Zika response until it collects the necessary funds, which will be distributed among the World Health Organization and other global partners in the fight against the virus.
Scientists say, they are not yet sure whether Zika virus is to be directly blamed for causing micro-cephaly (causal relationship) or is it something else (other factors) that are playing a role.
Zika is symptomatic in only 20 percent of people who get infected by it, making diagnosis hard.
Zika is nearly exclusively transmitted blood-to-blood, which means a transfusion from an infected blood donor could lead to an infection.
Of the total reported on Wednesday, Brazil said 508 cases of microcephaly had been confirmed, while 3935 were still being investigated.
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WHO’s Strategic Response Framework also includes funding of research into the unknown link between the usually harmless Zika fever and rising numbers of microcephaly cases. In some cases, vomiting and muscle pain are also reported.
