By Bill Berkrot
June 30 (Reuters) - Three more babies have been born in the
United States with birth defects likely linked to Zika virus
infections, while another lost pregnancy was linked to the
virus, according to figures updated by health officials on
Thursday.
That brings the U.S. totals, as of June 23, to seven babies
with microcephaly or other Zika-related birth defects such as
serious brain abnormalities, and five lost pregnancies from
either miscarriage, stillbirth or termination.
The figures were listed in a U.S. Zika pregnancy registry
created earlier this month by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
The registry compiles poor outcomes of pregnancies with
laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection in the 50
states and the District of Columbia. The agency is currently
monitoring 265 pregnant women with laboratory evidence of Zika
infection, not including those in U.S. territories such as
Puerto Rico.
Zika has caused concern throughout the Americas due to an
alarming rise in cases of the birth defect known as microcephaly
and other severe fetal brain abnormalities linked to the
mosquito-borne virus reported in Brazil, the country hardest hit
by the current outbreak. Infants with microcephaly tend to have
abnormally small heads and may experience potentially disabling
developmental problems.
Brazil has confirmed more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly
in babies whose mothers were infected with Zika during pregnancy
in the current outbreak.
More than 900 U.S. Zika cases reported so far have all
involved people who contracted the virus outside the United
States in areas with active Zika outbreaks, or were infected
through unprotected sex with an infected partner.
There have not yet been any cases reported of local
transmission of the virus in the United States, but health
experts expect local transmission to occur with the onset of
mosquito season, especially in Gulf Coast states, such as
Florida and Texas.
The CDC plans to issue updated reports each Thursday to
ensure that information about pregnancy outcomes linked with the
Zika virus is publicly available.
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TAKE A LOOK-Zika virus spreads across Americas, link to birth
defects confirmed ZIKA
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