"The World Health Organization says it expects the Zika virus to spread to every country in the Western Hemisphere except Canada.

It says the virus has already "spread to 21 countries and territories of the Americas."

"Canada is off the list simply because it's too cold for the type of mosquito that transmits the Zika virus," NPR's Jason Beaubien reports to our Newscast unit.

The illness caused by the virus has been blamed for birth defects."

Merrit Kennedy reports for NPR January 25, 2016. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"El Salvador’s Advice on Zika: Don’t Have Babies" (New York Times) [3]