Report: Number of Pregnant Women in US With Zika Triples

CDC monitoring 279 cases
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted May 20, 2016 12:49 PM CDT
Report: Number of Pregnant Women in US With Zika Triples
An Aedes aegypti mosquito, known to spread the Zika virus, is photographed through a microscope.   (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

The number of pregnant women in the US and its territories with the Zika virus has nearly tripled, according to a report from the CDC released Friday. USA Today reports 157 pregnant women in the continental US and another 122 in US territories tested positive for the virus, which can cause miscarriages and birth defects. It's unclear how much of the reported increase is due to the spread of Zika and how much is due to the CDC now counting women who tested positive but don't show symptoms, according to CNN. So far, none of the women were infected by mosquitoes in the US. Most got it while traveling to other countries, while a handful contracted Zika through sex. President Obama is meeting with health officials Friday to discuss a response to the virus. (More Zika virus stories.)

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