CIDRAP : declared in CDC notes 5% rate of Zika birth defects in US territories

Puerto Rico has documented by far the most cases of Zika-related birth defects in the US territories. Schuchat said that as of now, all US territories were using the same case definition for Zika-related birth defects, including Puerto Rico. Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its first analysis of Zika-related birth defects in US territories, concluding that 5% of all pregnancies with a confirmed Zika diagnosis in the mother resulted in a birth defect. About 5%, or 122, of the babies born to these women had Zika-associated birth defects, ranging from hearing loss to severe microcephaly, or abnormally small heads. The CDC recommends women in Puerto Rico be tested for Zika in each trimester.

Zika birth defects in US territories similar to other places

About 1 in 20 women infected with Zika had babies with birth defects in U.S. territories, according to the report. A report released Thursday shows Zika had about the same impact on birth defects in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories as it did in other places hit by the epidemic. The island territories — particularly Puerto Rico — are the U.S. locations hardest hit by the Zika epidemic. But infection during pregnancy can lead to severe brain-related birth defects. There were 122 birth defects out of more than 2,500 pregnancies.


U.S. health officials and public health experts have expressed particular concern about the underreporting of birth defects in Puerto Rico, in particular the island's use of a more narrow definition for reporting birth defects. Among women with confirmed Zika infection during the first trimester, 8 percent — nearly 1 in 12 — had a baby or fetus with Zika-related birth defects. "The bottom line is that there is no doubt that Zika infection during pregnancy, during any trimester, can lead to severe birth defects," she stressed during a media briefing. Overall, about 5 percent of women in the U.S. territories with a confirmed Zika infection during pregnancy had a baby or fetus with birth defects. (Lynne Sladky/AP)A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lays out for the first time the risk for Zika-related birth defects for each trimester of pregnancy.


collected by :Lucy William
To follow all the new news about

VIRUSES and INFECTIONS