microcephaly

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Illness That Caused 'Global Panic' Never Really Went Away

There's still no vaccine for mosquito-born Zika that struck in 2015; experts worry of future outbreak

(Newser) - In 2016, the United Nations declared that the Zika virus—a mosquito-borne illness that can cause serious neurological effects in newborns with infected moms— was no longer a worldwide emergency . But the virus didn't actually disappear: In fact, Medriva deems it a "silent threat still lurking." The...

13 Babies Had Heads of Normal Size. Then 11 Didn't
13 Babies Had Heads of
Normal Size. Then 11 Didn't
new study
Nov 24, 2016 8:56 AM CST

13 Babies Had Heads of Normal Size. Then 11 Didn't

Researchers find Zika can cause microcephaly well after birth

(Newser) - Even babies whose heads appear to be of normal size at birth can go on to develop microcephaly, according to new research out of Brazil. Writing in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report , scientists say that of the 13 babies they tracked who were born without any outward...

84 Pregnant Women in Florida Have Tested Positive for Zika

At least 1 baby has been born with microcephaly

(Newser) - Not only are locally acquired Zika cases on the rise in Florida, but 84 pregnant women have tested positive for the virus in the state, including at least 15 who've already given birth, say health officials. It isn't clear how many of those pregnancies had complications, but doctors...

Texas Sees 1st Death Linked to Zika: a Newborn

It's the second death in continental US

(Newser) - A newborn girl born with microcephaly has died in Texas, marking the first Zika-related death in the state and only the second nationwide, reports the Houston Chronicle . Harris County health officials say the girl's mother likely contracted Zika while traveling in Latin America, before she returned to the US...

NYC Sees 1st Baby Born With Zika-Related Microcephaly

Its mother had recently traveled to a country where the virus is prevalent

(Newser) - New York City's first baby with a Zika-related birth defect was born earlier this month, officials announced Friday. The New York Daily News reports the unidentified baby was born with microcephaly and subsequently tested positive for Zika. Its mother had recently traveled to an area were the virus is...

Florida Sees Its First Microcephaly Birth From Zika

It's the 3rd such case in the US

(Newser) - A third baby—and the first in Florida—with Zika-related microcephaly has been born in the US, ABC News reports. Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced the birth Tuesday. According to the Miami Herald , the baby was born to a woman from Haiti who contracted Zika while outside the US. She...

Girl With Zika-Linked Birth Defect Born in NJ

Mother became infected in Honduras

(Newser) - It's believed to be a first in the continental US, and it was probably inevitable. A baby girl with severe microcephaly was born at a hospital in Hackensack, NJ, on Tuesday to a mother infected with the Zika virus, ABC News reports. The CDC confirmed in April that the...

Zika Moms Face 'Substantial' Risk for Birth Defects

Up to 14% chance, says CDC

(Newser) - A month after confirming Zika causes birth defects , CDC researchers say there is a "substantial" risk that a pregnant woman will have a baby with a birth defect if infected with Zika during her first trimester. More specifically, the risk for microencaphaly is 1% to 14% depending on the...

It's Official: Zika Causes Birth Defects

What was long suspected has been confirmed by the CDC

(Newser) - What has long been suspected was finally confirmed by the CDC on Wednesday: The Zika virus causes birth defects, Time reports. According to the BBC , hundreds of babies in Brazil have been born with microcephaly since the Zika outbreak started, but so far the link between the two hadn't...

99% of Babies Born to Moms With Zika Are Normal

But rate may vary greatly by outbreak and location

(Newser) - A new study on the Zika virus may or may not allay pregnant women's fears: Researchers in French Polynesia have strengthened the link between Zika and microcephaly, though they say just one in 100 pregnant women infected in the first trimester of pregnancy developed a fetus with an abnormally...

New Study Shows the Zika Virus Destroys Brain Cells

But it could have even more 'grave outcomes' for babies

(Newser) - New studies released Friday offer the strongest indication yet that the Zika virus is responsible for the dramatic increase in microcephaly in Brazil while simultaneously warning that condition could be just the tip of the iceberg for infected babies. Researchers working at three US colleges determined Zika specifically targets cells...

Study Highlights Zika's Devastating Spread to Fetus

Study offers strongest evidence yet of birth defects from virus

(Newser) - The Zika virus' apparent effect on fetuses is on shocking display in a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine that was rushed to publication given the virus' spread . Though it offers no definitive link between Zika and fetal abnormalities, the study does produce the first evidence of...

Obama Wants $1.8B to Battle Zika

He asks Congress for emergency funding

(Newser) - President Obama is asking Congress for more than $1.8 billion in emergency funding to help fight the Zika virus . In an announcement Monday, the White House said the money would be used to expand mosquito control programs, speed development of a vaccine, develop diagnostic tests, and improve support for...

2.1K Pregnant Colombians Infected With Zika

Country now has 21K cases, as virus spreads wildly

(Newser) - Just days after American scientists warned that the Zika virus was poised to become an "explosive pandemic," the CBC reports that the number of cases in Latin America are soaring into the thousands, with 2,100 pregnant women diagnosed among the 20,000-plus cases reported in Colombia alone....

New Country Warns Women Not to Get Pregnant

Citing Zika, El Salvador wants women to hold off on pregnancies until 2018

(Newser) - Zika virus has now spread to some 20 Latin American nations, reports NBC News , and at least one of them—El Salvador—is issuing a pretty stern warning to its female population: To avoid children born with birth defects including microcephaly, the country wants women to avoid getting pregnant until...

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