The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed that three more American babies have been born with birth defects likely linked to Zika virus infections. The agency also said another lost pregnancy was linked to the virus.
According to the health agency’s online Zika pregnancies registry, that brings the total to seven babies with microcephaly born in the US, and five lost pregnancies either from miscarriage, stillbirth or termination as of June 23.
#Zika in US: already 7 babies born w birth defects; 5 #pregnancy loses w birth defects, #CDC https://t.co/J6ARa9dvzY pic.twitter.com/N02oPYrQfF
— Ani Shakarishvili,MD (@AniShakari) June 30, 2016
The registry compiles laboratory evidence of possible Zika infection from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Zika has caused alarm throughout the Americas since numerous cases of the birth defect microcephaly, linked to the mosquito-borne virus Zika, was reported in Brazil, the country hardest hit by the current outbreak. The rare birth defect is marked by unusually small head size and potentially severe developmental problems. More than 1,400 cases of microcephaly in babies have been confirmed in Brazil.
“The poor birth outcomes reported include those that have been detected in infants infected with Zika before or during birth, including microcephaly (unusually small head size and severe developmental problems), excess fluid in the brain cavities and surrounding the brain, absent or poorly formed brain…