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Two cases of Zika-related birth defects in California-born infants

Zika, which is spread to people through mosquito bites, can cause severe birth defects, including small heads.

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When an unusually high number of babies in Brazil were born with microcephaly previous year, health experts began to suspect Zika virus. Wynwood is the only area where individuals are contracting mosquito-borne transmission of the virus, officials said.

The department will not report where the babies were born.

The Zika virus is most risky to pregnant women and their unborn babies, because it can cause severe birth defects and brain damage in babies born to infected mothers. One is a resident in Southwest Ranches and there are now two more suspected non-travel related Zika cases in Fort Lauderdale.

On the Florida Department of Health’s website, there is plenty of information on the Zika virus. She said one mother and baby are doing well; the other mother took her infant back to her home country. To protect their privacy, the department is not releasing details or locations of the mothers and children.

At six, Florida is the only state with confirmed locally-acquired cases.

The state public health agency has let it be known that two babies with Zika virus-related microcephaly had been born in California.

All of the cases are people who contracted the virus after traveling to Zika-affected areas, which include the Caribbean, South America and a neighborhood in Miami, Florida.

The virus is usually spread by mosquitoes, but it can also be passed through sex. There is now no vaccine against the virus. A total of 23 infections have been confirmed in pregnant women.

Health officials are warning pregnant women to avoid traveling to a small area in southern Florida, where the unsafe virus has been spreading. At the time of testing, three pregnant women were confirmed to have Zika Virus.

“Pregnant women or those considering pregnancy should use the CDC’s travel advisories to think carefully about summer travel”, said Dr. Janet Berreman, the city of Berkeley’s health officer.

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That person was male, said the county’s Director of Disease Control Barbara Cole.

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