The infant girl was suffering from severe microcephaly, a rare condition linked to Zika virus in which babies are born with unusually small heads. The mother had traveled to the U.S.to seek out better care for her child, and she has family in the area, said CNN.
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An infant born in New Jersey Tuesday is the second known baby suspected of being born with Zika-related microcephaly in the U.S.
New Jersey hospitals are on high alert for signs of spread of the virus, and a laboratory on the grounds of the State Police headquarters in West Trenton has begun testing medical specimens.
The mother, who was not identified, contracted the disease in Honduras after being bitten by a mosquito early in her pregnancy.
The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light past year in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,300 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers.
For the first time since the beginning of the global epidemic, the White House is taking steps to clarify how existing state funding can be used to fight the disease at a time when it says it is short more than $1 billion to fight the disease nationally. “I believe strongly in collaborations and in hoping that these collaborations will lead to new vaccines”.
“The reality is that Congress has been on top of the Zika threat from the beginning”, Ryan said.
States also may consider changing their Medicaid policies to provide extended services for pregnant women, such as additional ultra sounds, according to the letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In January, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said that a US woman who had lived in Brazil gave birth to a microcephalic baby in Hawaii. Their partners are also advised to watch out for Zika symptoms and ensure protection when having sex since Zika can be transmitted through intercourse.
Of the 216 million annual journeys from Zika areas to the United States, an estimated 51.7 million involved childbearing-aged women, and 2.3 million involved pregnant women.
The mother was admitted on May 27 and an emergency caesarean section was performed to deliver the baby girl who was born with apparent intestinal and visual problems, according to a report by FOX News.
While the virus is not rampant in the U.S., Dolan encourages nurses to properly use standard precautions and safe injection practices to keep themselves healthy. Although the Zika virus is not deadly like Ebola, this mosquito-borne virus is linked to microcephaly, as well as other fetal brain defects. “This is a time for us to get together, unite and do everything possible to combat the condition”.
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The hospital determined the woman, who was 35 weeks pregnant, was at risk for Zika and contacted state health officials and the CDC, Alvarez said. Have you traveled to an area like Latin America or the Caribbean that the CDC has identified as potentially risky for Zika?
