Nine pregnant women have been tested positive for the mosquito-borne Zika virus in the United States, with one of them giving birth to a baby with a rare birth defect, health officials have confirmed.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday that among the women, one gave birth to a baby with severe microcephaly, a defect associated with undersized heads and developmental problems.
The Zika virus is suspected to cause microcephaly in children born to women with the viral infection.
Of the other women; two had miscarriages, two had abortions and two apparently gave birth to healthy babies. Two others are still pregnant.
All of the women had traveled to a country, where Zika is circulating, according to the agency.
“We did not expect to see these brain abnormalities in this small case series of US pregnant travelers,” said Denise Jamieson, a birth defects expert.