Zika-linked deaths reported in Colombia, UN urges to increases access to abortion measures

Three more deaths caused due to the Zika virus have been reported in Colombia. Meanwhile, considering the birth defects that the disease leads to in feotuses, the United Nations has urged increased access to abortion.

As per media reports, the Colombia's National Health Institute (INS) said that patients died after contracting the virus and developing a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome.

The cases of this syndrome have reportedly increased with the outbreak of the virus. Therefore, there are increased suspicions that it is a complication of the otherwise mild tropical fever, which is also blamed for causing brain damage in babies born to infected mothers.

Medical experts have also warned that there could more deaths linked to Zika virus. It is being said that although the mortality rate of the disease is not that high, it can still be deadly.

Citing the rise in babies born with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads and brains, the UN human rights office urged countries hit by Zika to give women improved access to contraception and abortion.

Women's reproductive rights are a touchy subject in the largely Catholic Latin America, but the UN human rights office said that countries are urging women to avoid pregnancy -- a list that comprises Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica and Panama.