Zika Infections Confirmed in 9 Pregnant Women in the US: CDC

Two of the nine women tested positive for Zika later in their pregnancies, during the second trimester. One woman gave birth to a baby with microcephaly.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention described the cases of nine pregnant women who traveled to Zika-affected countries and contracted the virus. Of the nine, two chose abortion, and one gave birth to a baby with microcephaly.

The women's identities were not released by the CDC, which described them in a report covering the period from August 2015 to February 2016.

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‘The US health authorities are currently investigating ten additional reports of Zika virus among pregnant women. ’

Zika, a mainly mosquito-borne virus, has been linked to a spike in birth defects in Brazil, where thousands of babies have been born with unusually small heads since last year.

Officials are rushing to figure out if Zika is the cause of the irreversible damage, known as microcephaly.

CDC chief Tom Frieden cautioned that much more research on a large number of people was needed to understand fully the risk posed by Zika virus infection in pregnancy.

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Zika virus had been detected in the breast milk of two infected mothers, but added there are currently no documented reports of Zika virus being transmitted to infants through breastfeeding

But the details of the nine cases suggested that adverse effects were more likely when the women were infected early on.

Of the six women who tested positive for Zika during the first trimester, one pregnancy is ongoing.

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One woman gave birth to a baby with microcephaly -- a case that has been previously reported by state health authorities. She is believed to have been infected while traveling to Brazil.

Two of the women miscarried, and two elected to terminate their pregnancies.

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Severe brain defects were documented during an ultrasound and MRI scan at 20 weeks gestation in one of the cases in which the woman chose abortion.

Details on the second abortion case were not released, and the CDC declined to say whether or not both the women made their decisions specifically because of Zika.

Two of the nine women tested positive for Zika later in their pregnancies, during the second trimester.

One delivered a healthy baby, and the other is continuing her pregnancy.

The ninth woman "reported symptoms of Zika virus infection in the third trimester of pregnancy, and she delivered a healthy infant," said the CDC.

All the women reported common symptoms of Zika virus infection -- including fever, rash and or red eyes -- and all were confirmed in lab tests to have Zika virus infections.

There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika. Health authorities have urged people traveling to or living in the more than 20 affected areas of Latin America and the Caribbean to avoid mosquito bites if possible, and to choose abstinence or use condoms regularly to avoid passing the virus to a partner.

Source-AFP