A Honduran woman infected with Zika virus delivered a baby girl with microcephaly yesterday at a New Jersey hospital, the second such case to be reported in the United States.
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The mother, who is 31 but whose name was not disclosed, contracted the Zika virus while in Honduras and was admitted to the emergency room at Hackensack on Friday while vacationing in the United States. Other than a few cases of sexual transmission in the states, all of the women became infected while in other countries, and there is no evidence mosquitos are spreading Zika in the continental United States. The infant is the second overall to be born in the US with this condition (the first was in Hawaii).
The baby is being fed through an intravenous tube for now, she said, as doctors evaluate her ability to suck and swallow.
Microcephaly is a birth defect wherein a baby’s head is smaller than expected compared with other babies of the same sex and age.
The mother gave birth while visiting extended family in New Jersey, hospital officials said. Doctors also reported that the baby has visual and intestinal problems.
The child born in New Jersey. Hospital director of medical and fetal medicine Dr. Abdulla Al-Kahan said both the mother and her baby girl are now in stable condition. All cases are considered related to Zika infections in the mothers.
The Zika virus is mainly transmitted via the Aedes mosquito.
“It tells you that Zika is real”, he said.
US health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly.
In a statement, the hospital told USA TODAY that the mother is “receiving exceptional care during this hard time and we appreciate everyone respecting the mother’s privacy”.
The Center for Disease Control said that, as of May 19, there were 168 women in continental U.S. who were pregnant and confirmed Zika sufferers.
The baby’s grandmother, a microbiologist, noticed her daughter had developed a rash from mosquito bites and sent a sample of her daughter’s blood to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Earlier this year, the World Health Organization declared Zika a public health emergency of worldwide concern.
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Previously, only cases of pregnant women who had Zika-related symptoms or pregnancy complications were being tallied, CDC officials said.
