First reported in French Polynesia, this possible link between GBS and Zika is also being taken seriously by health officials as Zika-affected countries like Brazil and El Salvador are reporting "unusual increases" in GBS cases.

"The aim has been to ensure accurate clinical diagnosis and treatment for patients, to track the spread of the virus and the mosquito that carries it, and to promote prevention, especially through mosquito control, which is key". In the countries where Zika is spreading rapidly, people can contract the virus in their homes, where the mosquitoes like to dwell.

Last Thursday, WHO director-general, Dr Margaret Chan, said the level of alarm was "extremely high" despite the lack of proof that Zika is responsible for the spike in the number of babies born in Brazil with abnormally small heads.

Dr. Carmela Gensoli, officer-in-charge of the CHO, said the agency will disseminate information about the Zika virus as part of its dengue awareness campaign in the city.

The government has urged women to delay pregnancy for six to eight months to avoid potential infection. But work is underway towards developing a vaccine for the Zika virus.

The infection is usually mild, causing flu-like symptoms and sometimes a rash.

Rodriguez went on to say, "It is important to note that the vast majority of those exposed to the virus never have symptoms and CDC states that the risk of a homegrown outbreak is very low, largely because of more effective mosquito control, which is reassuring".

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has declared "war" on the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

But despite sending troops out onto the streets to try to combat the virus spreading by killing its host, she's been heavily criticised for not doing enough. "No-one who is pregnant is safe I don't think". "People will look for an abortion". What a terrible thing.

"If travel can not be postponed then strict mosquito bite prevention measures should be followed to protect themselves against bites", it added, stating that this should be done particularly for those travelling to areas where Zika virus is circulating. It is named for the forest in Uganda, where Zika was discovered.

According to Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, an assistant professor in the department of environmental sciences at Emory College in Atlanta, it's relatively hard for individual travelers infected overseas to spread Zika in the U.S. The primary reason is because most people infected with the virus clear it from their blood in less than a week.