28 Feb 2016

42,000 Colombians infected with zika

3:04 pm on 28 February 2016

Colombia has reported more than 42,000 cases of people infected with the zika virus, including 7000 pregnant women.

That's a jump of 5000 cases in a week, including 1300 more pregnant women.

Most cases of zika are undetectable or cause mild symptoms such as low fever or joint pain but there are fears it is connected to the birth defect microcephaly.

The World Health Organisation has declared a global emergency and is working to confirm the connection to the condition.