Dr. Ihor Sawczuk (center) and Dr. Abdulla Al-Khan (right) watch Dr. Julia Piwoz while she confirms that a baby born to a mother with the Zika virus appears to be affected by the disease. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-registered repellents are considered safe and effective, even for pregnant and breast-feeding women, according to the poison center.
Advertisement
In a statement, the hospital said the mother is “receiving exceptional care during this hard time and we appreciate everyone respecting the mother’s privacy”. The doctor said that the team could just offer mental and physical supportive care for both of them.
It’s part of the federal government’s push to combat Zika virus. Back in January, a baby was born with severe microcephaly in Hawaii.
No mosquito-to-human transmissions of Zika virus have been reported in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Doctors told reporters Wednesday the infant was on intravenous nutrition and said it was “too early” to tell what the child’s life expectancy might be.
As of May 19, there were more than 300 pregnant women infected with Zika across the United States and its territories, including Puerto Rico, according to a national pregnancy registry that is monitoring the expectant mothers. Doctors decided that they had to perform an emergency caesarean section to deliver the baby.
Microcephaly is a birth defect that causes small head size and developmental problems. But U.S. health officials have said they expect to see Zika infections in Gulf Coast states such as Florida, Louisiana and Texas as mosquito season picks up. Not only does the baby have microcephaly, they said, but she is also suffering from intestinal issues and “structural abnormalities of the eye”. Women who can not avoid them are advised to use insect repellents such as DEET, to cover up to protect themselves from bites and to stay indoors in air conditioning if at all possible.
The figures represent current confirmed cases of Zika.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says there are now over 300 pregnant woman in the USA with “laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection”.
The CDC recommends women who are pregnant to avoid travel to areas where Zika is active, including much of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Advertisement
The potential spread of Zika Virus across the United States and in New Jersey this summer could be one of the largest public health threats in years and the number of confirmed cases has already started climbing in the Garden State. With more than 1,400 reported cases, Brazil has the most, by far. Have you traveled to an area like Latin America or the Caribbean that the CDC has identified as potentially unsafe for Zika? “We are probably going to learn more over the next several months”, Nahass said.
