Facebook announces campaign for public awareness around the Zika virus

Zika, the virus that has been recently sweeping Brazil and Latin America, has caused massive concern among the public and especially among health officials given its alarming spread. With the virus purportedly responsible for babies being born with microcephaly (a condition marked by diminished brain development,) it’s an affliction that is of especial concern among expectant mothers.

The World Health Organization in Brazil has already declared a global emergency with over 4,000 cases of microcephaly being documented since only October last year.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced today the launch of a public awareness campaign around this virus. In a post he put up on Facebook, the first video of this campaign was released today in Portuguese (with English subtitles) containing steps that expectant mothers should adopt to reduce the possibility of coming into contact with mosquitoes.