Two U.S. soldiers serving in South America contracted Zika but have fully recovered and returned to duty, while a third, pregnant service member left the region early for fear of contracting the virus, a top U.S. commander said on Thursday.

 Fetuses in 29 percent of pregnant women with Zika virus infection were found to have a range of severe abnormalities, according to preliminary results from a small study that raised new concerns about the potential link

 Research by scientists in Brazil indicates that a mosquito more common than the one primarily known to transmit Zika infections may possibly be able to carry the virus,

 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday issued new recommendations aimed at reducing the risk of Zika virus transmission through donated human tissues and cells used in surgical or reproductive procedures,

 French scientists say they have proved a link between the Zika virus and a nerve syndrome called Guillain-Barre, suggesting countries hit by the Zika epidemic will see a rise in cases of the serious neurological condition.

 U.S. health officials are investigating 14 reports of the Zika virus that may been transmitted through sex, including to several pregnant women, raising new questions about the role sexual transmission is playing in the growing outbreak.

 The World Health Organization (WHO) called on Wednesday for $56 million to combat the Zika virus, a disease that has been linked to severe birth defects in Brazil and has spread to nearly 30 countries and territories.

 VietNamNet Bridge – No cases of Zika fever have been reported in Viet Nam so far, but the country is expanding surveillance as the world epidemic situation becomes more serious, a health official said.

 Russia's consumer safety watchdog said on Monday the country had registered its first case of a person infected with the Zika virus, an unnamed female who had been on holiday in the Dominican Republic.

The World Health Organisation advised women on Wednesday on how to protect themselves from Zika, particularly if pregnant, but also reassured them that most women in areas affected by the mosquito-borne virus will give birth to "normal infants."

For scores of women in the epicenter of the Zika outbreak in Brazil, the joy of pregnancy has given way to fear. 

 The mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been linked to brain damage in thousands of babies in Brazil, is likely to spread to all countries in the Americas except for Canada and Chile,

Olympic and tourism officials in Brazil downplayed risks for foreign visitors from the mosquito-borne Zika virus on Monday, even as the health ministry warned pregnant women to consult doctors before visiting the country amid a widening scare.