So far, 591 cases of Zika have been diagnosed in the USA, and all have been travel related.
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Doctors, including Fox News Health Senior Managing Editor Dr. Manny Alvarez, confirmed the birth of a child with Zika virus linked to microcephaly- the first reported case of the birth defect, which is marked by a partially formed brain, in the continental United States.
“The mother, who is visiting the United States, is receiving exceptional care during this hard time and we would appreciate everyone respecting the mother’s privacy”, Sheri Hensley, Senior Media Specialist at Hackensack University Medical Center, said in an email. “You could see the pain in her heart”, Alvarez said of the mother, the website reported. He said scans on Friday showed the girl was underweight for her gestational age and doctors did not want to risk further exposure to the virus, so they delivered the baby, the woman’s second child, by cesarean section on Tuesday.
The Zika virus, which is spread primarily by the Aedes mosquito, causes only a mild and brief illness in most adults.
The unidentified baby was born at Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital to a woman who officials say contracted Zika internationally.
Zika is carried by mosquitoes, which transmit the virus to humans. The connection between Zika and microcephaly was first discovered past year in Brazil, where more than 1,300 cases have been confirmed.
“The mother is stable, obviously sad, which is the normal emotional reaction given the situation”, said Dr. Abdulla Al-Khan, director of maternal and fetal medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center in an interview with CNN. The premature baby girl was born with microcephaly and structural abnormalities in one of her eyes.
“I think it was because of a mosquito, but I really don’t know”, she said. Babies with the devastating birth defect are born with small heads and brains.
The infant was born at the Hackensack University Medical Center; her mother had been receiving prenatal care in Honduras, but apparently exhibited a rash consistent with Zika after being bitten by an infected mosquito early on in her pregnancy.
Zika virus infection is known to cause a range of serious birth defects. Mosquitoes aren’t yet spreading Zika in the continental US, but experts predict small outbreaks are possible as mosquito season heats up. Babies with microcephaly have small brains and heads. The patient’s aunt told FoxNews.com the mother is not doing well emotionally after the birth of her child. There’s one infant with Zika-related birth defects born in CT as well after its mother acquired the virus in Central America.
The Zika outbreak has hit large parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, with Brazil the worst hit.
The Center for Disease Control said that, as of May 19, there were 168 women in continental USA who were pregnant and confirmed Zika sufferers.
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Previously, only cases of pregnant women who had Zika-related symptoms or pregnancy complications were being tallied, CDC officials said.
