When children are born with microcephaly, doctors immediately perform an ultrasound on the head and brain to determine which structures may be underdeveloped, said Edwards.
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It’s the first apparent case in the Northeast of a baby being born with Zika, said officials at the Hackensack University Medical Center, where the baby girl was delivered.
Al-Khan said that the baby and mother are “relatively stable” and that employees are counseling the mother through the stress and anxiety of having an infant with microcephaly.
The mother gave birth in a New Jersey hospital on Tuesday.
The mother, who has not been identified, was visiting the United States from Honduras.
The doctor further said that the mother came from Honduras to the USA to get better medical care. The baby is the second one born in the USA with Zika.
HACKENSACK -The baby born at Hackensack University Medical Center Tuesday with abnormalities related to the Zika virus is being evaluated by teams of specialists concerned about her brain and eye development, doctors said at a press conference Wednesday.
Alvarez says federal authorities have confirmed she had the Zika virus.
So far, an estimated 280 infected women are being followed in the United States and its territories, according to two registries that have been created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other tests were conducted to ensure there was nothing else wrong with the fragile little life, but Dr. Al-Khan simply stated: “When I saw her today, I was pretty much convinced this was a Zika-affected baby”. Earlier this month health officials in Puerto Rico confirmed their first case of a fetus with severe microcephaly linked to local transmission of the virus.
Doctors in Honduras suspected intracranial complications with the child in utero, but it was not until she was admitted to the high-risk unit at Hackensack University Medical Center that doctors confirmed the microcephaly diagnosis. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), women planning to become pregnant should wait at least eight weeks before trying to conceive if they or their partner live in or are returning from Zika virus hotspots.
The birth defects appear to be caused by Zika. The doctors will likely be conducting brain scans on Zika babies to get an idea of the internal anatomy and possible defects.
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The case has highlighted how medical officials in the USA are monitoring pregnant women amid fears that the Zika virus could be transmitted locally. The CDC has not released details about those pregnancies or any outcome.
