One in 10 women diagnosed with a confirmed Zika infection gave birth to babies with complications. The statistics released last Tuesday were acquired from the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry.
Zika-related birth defects became rampant among women in the United States. Reported birth defects included microcephaly and other brain-related abnormalities. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the numbers continually increased by 10 percent in terms of looking at the numbers of women infected by Zika.
The birth defects were reported in 15 percent of the women who were hit by the virus during their first trimester as reported in New York Times. It was then mentioned that women who were infected during the early stages are bound to suffer a greater impact compared to those who were hit by Zika during their last trimester.
"We are still learning about the range of birth defects... (We've) seen it can cause vision, hearing, brain problems and others," Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC's acting director stated during her interview with CNN. "Babies can have seizures, restricted joint movement, feeding difficulties, trouble sitting up and inconsolable crying."
Even though the outbreak ended in South America last year, reports said that more than 5,000 cases of Zika were reported in the United States and Hawaii alone. In addition to the numbers, only a few hundred cases were reported as local transmission. Most of the infections were acquired through traveling in Zika infected areas.
In a year-end report released by CDC last year, the agency mentioned that 1,288 pregnancies were tagged as successful, noting that it does not have any birth defects despite being infected with Zika. Fifty-four babies, on the other hand, were born with Zika related birth defects and a total of seven miscarriages were linked to Zika in 2016.
As of writing, there are 389 pregnant women who are still under the observation of CDC as all of which are said to be infected with Zika. Meanwhile, for more news and updates, check out Parent Herald.
