And, HHS noted, they are required to cover all medically necessary diagnostic services related to the detection of a Zika virus infection, including diagnosis of microcephaly and other birth defects without limit to individuals under the age of 21.
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Zika has been linked to microcephaly, a neurological condition associated with an abnormally small head and lifelong disabilities.
Al-Kahn said the prognosis for infants born with microcephaly, which also can signal underlying brain damage, is “generally very poor”. Doctors performed ultrasound exams and “became concerned that there could be an issue with the baby”, Al-Khan said.
The hospital suspected that the woman, who was 35 weeks pregnant, might have contracted Zika, a diagnosis that the CDC confirmed, Al-Khan said.
After being infected with the virus, the mother traveled to America hoping for better medical care for her unborn child, CNN reported.
“The new guidelines reflect what we have learned about Zika disease and its complications”, said Christian Lindmeier, WHO spokesman.
The infant is the second born in the United States with birth defects from the mosquito-borne virus.
The patient said other mothers should be careful as Zika continues to spread throughout various countries.
Dirubbo recently saw a woman who was concerned because she was trying to conceive and her job occasionally included travel to countries affected by the virus.
A baby born with Zika-related microcephaly has been delivered in the United States, at the Hackensack University Medical Center. Mosquitoes arent yet spreading Zika in the continental USA, but experts predict small outbreaks are possible as mosquito season heats up.
Dr. Amy Edwards, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, said, “Very mildly affected kids, if they have full heads of hair, you may not be able to tell”.
Despite this, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has now placed an amber Zika alert on the Central American nation, meaning visitors to Honduras should just “practice enhanced precautions”.
She’s “hanging in there”, Al-Khan told Fox.
“What human being isn’t going to be devastated by this news?” he added. The baby born in Hawaii also had microcephaly.
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The case has underlined how the USA medical officials have been monitoring pregnant women in the middle of fears that Zika virus may transmit locally. That report also said officials in Perth Amboy will work with the Middlesex County Mosquito Control Commission to further educate residents about the virus, and the Asian tiger mosquito that carries it. More than 40 million people travel to and from Latin America and the Caribbean and US territories such as Puerto Rico are having their own Zika epidemics.
