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The United States has its first case of an infant born with a serious birth defect possibly as a result of a Zika virus infection during its mother’s pregnancy.
Health officials in Hawaii have announced that a baby born recently on Oahu has microcephaly, a condition where the head is smaller than normal. Babies with microcephaly can also have underdeveloped brains, which may lead to lifelong developmental problems.
State officials said testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that the baby had previously been infected with Zika virus.
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The baby’s gender and name have not been released. Its mother was living in Brazil last May which — given that the baby was said to have been born recently — would have been early in her pregnancy. Brazil has been experiencing a huge Zika virus infection that began last May, and has seen a startling increase in infants born with microcephaly.
The CDC urged pregnant women to avoid, if possible, travel to 14 countries and territories in the Americas which are currently experiencing Zika virus infections. The locations named are: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Read full, original post: Baby born in Hawaii has birth defect linked to Zika virus
