More information will be available in the future from a new CDC registry for US pregnant women with confirmed Zika virus infection and their infants.
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This is not the first time the Zika virus has been reported in the county.
Zika virus has recently been linked with serious health problems in pregnant women, primarily a birth defect known as microcephaly in children born to women who had a Zika infection.
Zika has become epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean since last fall.
The Zika virus outbreak has been proven to be very unsafe especially for pregnant women. Three of the women have delivered babies: two are apparently healthy, one was born with microcephaly.
Two of the women are reported to have suffered miscarriages. Two women had abortions, one after scans showed the fetus had an undeveloped brain. Details were not provided for the second case. Two pregnancies are continuing without reported complications.
Mother Mylene Helena Ferreira hugs her son David Henrique Ferreira, 5 months, who has microcephaly, on January 25, 2016 in Recife, Brazil. “The U.S. obstetrics community needs to prepare accordingly”.
A pregnant woman from Los Angeles County has been infected with the Zika virus after traveling outside the area, public health officials confirmed late Friday.
Many health experts are convinced that the link between Zika virus and birth defects is a reality but there is no conclusive proof yet, USA Today reports.
The advice also applies to the 2016 Paralympic Games, which are being held in Brazil in September.
The CDC said the Zika outbreak in Brazil is “dynamic” and that it will continue to monitor the situation and will adjust these recommendations as needed. That’s to prevent mosquitoes from biting them and possibly spreading Zika to others in the U.S. The type of mosquito that spreads Zika is in parts of the South. All of the women had travelled to a country or territory where Zika is circulating. Non-pregnant travelers with Zika symptoms are also be eligible for testing and may discuss this option with their healthcare provider.
Health professionals are warning people who plan on traveling to infected areas to practice safe sex to avoid the spread of the infection.
The virus spread through sexual contact from a man who traveled in a Zika-affected country to a woman who had not traveled, according to OHA spokesman Jonathan Modie. It’s been surprising that this many instances appear to have happened in the United States, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden noted during a call with reporters.
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Pregnant women should consider postponing travel to Zika-affected regions.
