NPR : declared in Birth Defects In 5 Percent Of Babies Born To Zika-Infected Women In U.S. Territories : Shots

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). TerritoriesEnlarge this image toggle caption Carlos Giusti/AP Carlos Giusti/APZika is a scary virus because of the terrible birth defects it can cause. Estimates of birth defects have ranged from 1 percent of pregnancies to more than 10 percent. CDC Reveals Sharper Numbers Of Zika Birth Defects From U.S.

This Week in Zika: Birth Defects in U.S. Territories, States Seen as Consistent

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. This report comprised data from U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, American Samoa and the Federated States of Micronesia. Elsewhere in Zika NewsWith a dramatic decline in the number of Zika cases reported since April, Puerto Rico declared that its Zika epidemic was over. They concluded that this emphasizes the importance of serial fetal ultrasounds and MRI imaging throughout the pregnancy of any woman with even suspected Zika virus infection. There were 14 symptomatic women, who reported Zika symptoms at a median gestational age of 10 weeks.


"In this report, more than 120 pregnancies resulted in Zika-associated birth defects," the CDC said in a statement. Andre Penner / APThe CDC reported in April that 10 percent of women with Zika-affected pregnancies in the 50 U.S. states ended up having babies with birth defects. "Zika virus infection during any stage of pregnancy can cause birth defects," the CDC said. Of them, 72 have had babies with Zika-linked birth defects and eight have been stillborn, miscarried or aborted because of Zika damage. Once considered boring to the few scientists who had even heard of it, Zika has turned out to be a major cause of profound birth defects.


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