Geneva (AFP) - The Zika virus strain linked to surging cases of neurological disorders and birth defects in Latin America has now been found in Africa, health officials said Friday, as the first fatality on French territory was reported on the Caribbean island of Martinique. The World Health Organization announced that the strain of Zika circulating in Cape Verde had been shown to be the same as the one behind an explosion of cases in the Americas.
"This is the first time that strain of Zika which has been showed to cause neurological disorders and microcephaly... has been detected in Africa," Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's Africa regional chief, told reporters in Geneva.
The so-called Asian strain of the virus, which has infected some 1.5 million people in Brazil, the worst-affected country, was detected in Cape Verde through the sequencing of Zika cases in the island nation.
"It is the same genetic material as the virus in Brazil," WHO spokeswoman Marsha Vanderford told AFP.
"The findings are of concern because it is further proof that the outbreak is spreading beyond South America and is on the doorstep of Africa."
"This information will help African countries to re-evaluate their level of risk and adapt and increase their levels of preparedness," she added.
