The Zika virus outbreak has caused a lot of panic in Latin America because the virus has been linked to the development of microcephaly in babies. And now, doctors in Brazil are also reporting that the virus might also cause other birth defects aside from brain damage.
NBC News reports that doctors in Brazil found out that more than a third of babies born with birth defects linked to Zika virus also had serious eye defects. The doctors say that they base their findings on the fact that they have ruled out other potential causes for the babies' eye problems during their study.
"Of the 29 infants (58 eyes) examined ocular abnormalities were present in 17 eyes (29.3 percent) of 10 children (34.5 percent)," the team of doctors from the Federal University of São Paulo wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association's JAMA Ophthalmology. Although the study only involved 29 infants, the doctors assured that all of the babies went through meticulous examinations and a series of tests.
"If you look at some of the images, you will see little clumps of black pigment. Those shouldn't be there," Northwestern University ophthalmology professor Dr. Lee Jampol told NBC News. Jampol wrote a commentary with Dr. Debra Goldstein about the findings of the doctors in Brazil.
Experts are not yet sure if these eye defects will affect the babies' vision as they grow up. More tests are still needed to be done in order to confirm the duration and severity of the eye problems.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised pregnant women not to visit countries affected by the Zika virus outbreak to prevent the development of birth defects in their babies. Some governments in Latin America are even advising women to avoid getting pregnant for a couple of months to a few years, according to NY Times.
