The World Health Organization (WHO) raised the mosquito-borne Zika virus crisis to its highest alert level today. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, M.D., made the announcement amid growing concern that Zika causes birth defects such as microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Family planning matters, and lately the issue is related to current news stories about the Zika virus. Because of a possible link between the Zika virus and birth abnormalities, the Associated Press reports that Latin American governments including Brazil and Colombia are asking women to avoid pregnancy, and Salvadoran authorities have advised women not to get pregnant until 2018.

Wired International now offers its third Zika module, Zika for community health workers (CHWs). This rapid response module informs CHWs about Zika virus infections and discusses diagnosis, treatment, prevention measures and travel advisories.

No woman should die of cervical cancer. If caught early, cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treated cancers.

Are you and your loved ones up to date on vaccinations? WiRED International wants to make sure that everyone in your family is vaccinated against infectious disease.

The Zika virus that has been linked to a dramatic rise of infants born with severe and irreversible nerve damage and a small head (microcephaly) in Brazil has prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on January 15 to advise pregnant women to postpone travel to the following countries: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Chagas disease made the news recently when a New York Times article revealed a plan by Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli to charge from $60,000 to $100,000 for a course of benznidazole to treat Chagas disease, up from the current price of $5 to $100 for a two-month course of the drug.

The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 400 million dengue infections occur each year globally.

WiRED International’s volunteers, board and staff look forward to a busy and productive 2016. Our plans include the addition of several dozen new modules to the Health Learning Center and updates which will reflect new research and thinking about topics already in the library.

Women in Brazil are being warned to avoid mosquitoes and to postpone pregnancy as cases of microcephaly in newborns edge up to 2,800, according to a recent New York Times story.