Child neurologist Vanessa Van Der Linden observes the X-ray of a baby's skull with microcephaly at the hospital Barao de Lucena in Recife, Brazil PHOTO: REUTERS
The report from the US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention is the first to include official numbers from the
territory of Puerto Rico, which on Monday declared that its Zika
epidemic had ended, based on data showing the number of new
cases has fallen.
The CDC on Thursday continued to reiterate its recommendation that pregnant women not travel to Puerto Rico, noting that Zika remains a risk for pregnant women there and anywhere else the mosquito-borne virus is active. "Zika virus poses a serious threat to pregnant women and their babies, regardless of when the infection occurs during the
pregnancy," said CDC Acting Director Dr. Anne Schuchat.
Zika virus reaches India
"Women in the US territories and elsewhere who have
continued exposure to mosquitoes carrying Zika are at a risk of
infection. We must remain vigilant and committed to preventing
new Zika infections."
Besides Puerto Rico, the report included data on 1,508 Zika-confirmed pregnancies in women from American Samoa, the
Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Marshall
Islands, and the US Virgin Islands from Jan 1, 2016 through
April 25, 2017.
Of these, more than 120 pregnancies, or about 5 per cent, resulted in Zika-associated birth defects, the CDC said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Among the women who were infected during their first trimester of pregnancy, 8 per cent had babies with
Zika-associated birth defects.
One in 10 US women with Zika had deformed fetus or baby
That compared with 15 per cent in a prior study of birth defects among women from US states and the District of Colombia, most of whom became infected during travel to Zika-affected countries. The CDC said because the newer report is much larger, the findings are not statistically different.
About 5 per cent of women infected during their second
trimester and about 4 per cent infected in their third trimester
had babies with Zika-related birth defects, showing that the
virus remains dangerous throughout a woman's pregnancy.
The report represents the largest number of completed
pregnancies with lab-confirmed Zika virus infections to date,
the CDC said.
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