Zika virus: WHO's expert panel meets next week to review Rio Olympics

The group of independent experts, who declared an international emergency on Feb. 1 and last convened on March 8, will "look at evidence around the Olympics and most likely review the travel guidance around that," WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said.

The experts' teleconference will be held on June 14, the WHO said in a statement that did not mention the Rio Games starting on Aug. 5.

"Experts from a range of disciplines will present research and other information relevant to the outbreak, including what has been learned so far about microcephaly, other neonatal malformations, and neurological disorders such as Guillain-Barre syndrome," it said.

• UN asking expert panel to assess Zika risk at Rio Olympics
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Dr. David Heymann, chair of the Health Protection Agency in Britain and leader of the WHO panel, told Reuters last week that postponing the Rio Olympics due to fears that the event could speed the spread of the virus would create a false sense of security, because travellers are constantly going in and out of Brazil.

"Of course there is a lot of international concern out there, there is a lot of personal concern out there because it's a new disease," he said. "And the best way for us to react to emotional concerns is to look at our deep science and to give clear guidance as good as we can."

The WHO said last week that people returning from Zika-infected areas should follow safe sex practices or abstain from sex for at least eight weeks rather than just four.