Zika is a disease caused by the Zika virus, which is spread to humans most frequently through the bites of a specific mosquito. Over the past year, Zika has spread rapidly throughout South America, and the outbreak has coincided with a huge increase in microcephaly cases.
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One, a woman in Hawaii, gave birth to a baby with severe microcephaly. The CDC stressed that, “although sexual transmission of Zika virus infection is possible, mosquito bites remain the primary way that Zika virus is transmitted”.
Two women have gone on to have apparently healthy newborns.
In recent weeks, the CDC has advised pregnant women to postpone travel to Zika-affected areas, and for men who travel to such areas to use a condom or abstain from sex, especially if their partner is pregnant. Two of those women elected to get abortions after being diagnosed with the Zika virus, and one woman gave birth to an infant with severe microcephaly – a condition in which the child’s head is abnormally small.
The agency also said pregnant women should consider not traveling to the Summer Olympics in Brazil, calling the situation with the virus there “dynamic”.
The CDC is following 10 other pregnant women.
Two of the women are reported to have suffered miscarriages.
– Two pregnancies are continuing with no reported complications.
The health agency said the nine women had been to places with Zika outbreaks – American Samoa, Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Samoa. Amniocentesis was performed, and Zika virus RNA was detected by RT-PCR testing.
One of the pregnant women who made a decision to undergo abortion acquired the infection during the first trimester of her pregnancy.
DeMaria says some obstetricians have told him they are discouraging patients from getting the blood test, against the CDC’s guidelines.
One pregnant woman reported symptoms of Zika virus infection in the third trimester of pregnancy, and she delivered a healthy infant.
In a second report, the CDC says that there are 14 cases of suspected sexually transmitted Zika in the United States-which suggests it is more common than previously thought. “And so what we’re doing at this time… we do not have those mosquitoes in Montana that can actually transmit the virus”, explained Cindy Hotchkiss with the Missoula City County Health Department.
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The primary Zika preventative measure for pregnant women and/or women who may become pregnant is avoiding travel to impacted areas. “We did not anticipate we would see this many sexual transmissions of Zika”. The CDC recommends that pregnant women stay away from infected areas.
