Health experts have confirmed a case of the Zika virus in MI, but doctors say it is not a threat to the rest of the state.
Advertisement
The World Health Organization has urged countries to proceed as if Zika causes these birth defects.
Researchers already suspect (although have not yet proven) that Zika is associated with microcephaly, a condition which results in babies being born with unusually small brains. The baby had signs of severe tissue swelling as well as central nervous system defects which caused the cerebral hemispheres to be absent.
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus are seen at a laboratory of the National Center for the Control of Tropical Diseases (CENCET) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on February 10, 2016.
Speaking at a news conference, Dr. Margaret Chan praised the government’s commitment to tackling the disease, its transparency and its willingness to collaborate at both national and global levels. It’s further advising women who plan to become pregnant to consult their doctor before traveling there and to strictly follow steps for avoiding mosquito bites.
First, the bad: We now have pregnant women in the USA who have tested positive for the Zika virus, and some are thought to have gotten the disease via sex. But the occurrence of the virus in the central nervous system is nevertheless alarming, because it suggests that the virus may have played a role in the baby’s cranial deformities.
“It’s a devastating finding, but it goes along with what these early onset congenital infections can do to the fetus”, Tache said.
Testing of pregnant women who have travelled to Zika virus-affected countries is offered by the CDC. That’s how they learned Zika was present in the baby.
Zika has been recorded in at least 20 countries including the Pacific nation of Tonga, Brazil, the U.S. and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. However, at around her 18th week of pregnancy, an ultrasound showed that the fetus weighed much less than normally developing fetuses weigh at that point.
But by the 30th week of pregnancy, the fetus showed a range of birth defects. Labor was induced at the 32nd week.
The Florida Department of Health, which has declared a public health emergency for the 11 counties with confirmed Zika cases, chose not to name the counties where the infected pregnant women live for privacy reasons, according to an announcement.
The virus has been spreading through Brazil, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.
But Aedes mosquitoes, which are active during the day, are aggressive biters that will get inside a house if they’re allowed.
Advertisement
The WHO head ended her two-day visit to Brazil, considered the epicenter of the Zika crisis.
