Five Percent of Babies Born with Zika Birth Defects in U.S. Territories – CDC quoting : FOX News Radio

Federal health officials have more information about the prevalence of birth defects of babies born to mothers infected with the Zika virus. #Zika study shows more than 120 babies born with Zika-associated birth defects in US territories. CDC recommends frequent testing and screening of potentially infected mothers and their babies before and after birth. Doctor Ann Schuchat at the Centers for Disease Control says those rates are consistent with Zika birth defects on the U.S. mainland, and that risks of birth defects increase the earlier in the pregnancy the mother is infected. FOX's Eben Brown reports:A survey of pregnant mothers from U.S. territories, like Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, among others, showed that about 1500 had confirmed Zika infections:(Dr. Schuchat) "And 122, or five percent, have Zika associated birth defects."




Not all birth defects are immediately recognized at birth, Schuchat said, so it's important for doctors to follow up with these babies. The CDC found that 122 of these women — about 5 percent — gave birth to babies with birth defects such as small heads (known as microcephaly). Estimates of birth defects have ranged from 1 percent of pregnancies to more than 10 percent. The federal health agency, which has been struggling to get clear information out of Puerto Rico about Zika, declined to say how many of those birth defects came from Puerto Rico. Zika is a scary virus because of the terrible birth defects it can cause.

One in 12 Infants with Zika Have Birth Defects in U.S. Territories

Of 2,549 completed pregnancies with possible Zika virus infection, 1,508 women had confirmed Zika infection and there were 122 infants with Zika-associated birth defects. About one in 12 fetuses or infants of pregnant women with Zika infection have Zika-associated birth defects in the U.S. territories including Puerto Rico, which is consistent with prior data on Zika infection from U.S. states in April, CDC researchers said. About two-thirds of women reported Zika symptoms during pregnancy compared to a third that were asymptomatic. Read Full ArticleWith data on nearly 4,000 pregnancies between January 1, 2016 and April 5, 2017, this was the largest number of pregnancies with possible Zika infection to date. A separate report issued Thursday in MMWR covered measures pregnant women in Puerto Rico have taken to prevent Zika infection.


collected by :Lucy William
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