The United States now has its third case of a baby affected with the Zika virus. The baby girl was born in New Jersey this week with abnormal eyes and severe microcephaly, a congenital condition where infants have abnormally small heads and stunted brain development.
The baby girl's 31-year-old mother reportedly acquired Zika from Honduras, her home country, the New York Times reported. Zika is transmitted by Aedes species mosquito carriers.
Dr. Manny Alvarez, chairperson of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Hackensack University Medical Center, said the woman was aware that she contracted Zika prior to visiting her relatives in New Jersey. Scans conducted last week showed that the then-unborn baby was underweight, so doctors chose to deliver the baby via caesarean section this week so she wouldn't be exposed further to Zika.
Dr. Abdulla Al-Khan, director of Maternal Fetal Medicine and Surgery at Hackensack UMC, said the woman chose to give birth in the U.S. because she thinks her baby would have better care in the country, according to WPIX-TV. Al-Khan added that the infant's brain also displayed calcification and dilated ventricles, CNN reported. Experts believe that the woman was infected with Zika during her pregnancy's second trimester.
Prior to the New Jersey case, a baby affected with Zika was also born in January in Hawaii. There's one infant with Zika-related birth defects born in Connecticut as well after its mother acquired the virus in Central America.
Pregnant Women Warned
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued travel notices in Zika-affected regions including the Caribbean, Central America, the Pacific Islands and South America. Pregnant women and those who are planning to conceive should avoid traveling to those regions in the meantime.
According to the CDC, Aedes mosquitoes are aggressive biters that are active during daytime and nighttime. There is no vaccine and medicine for Zika yet, while its most common symptoms are fever, joint pain, rashes and red eyes.
Men infected with Zika can spread the virus to his sex partners. In the U.S., 11 cases of Zika transmitted sexually were recorded, WPIX-TV noted. Males living and visiting Zika-affected regions should use condoms properly during sex, or abstain from sex entirely.
How Zika Transfers From Mother To Baby
Experts think that Zika virus crosses the placenta barrier through openings left behind by damage or inflammation, according to Forbes. Another theory is that the virus travels through the placental barrier by hiding inside a host cell. When virus particles cross the placenta, it can then infect the developing fetus' brain tissue.