Three babies have been born in the US with birth defects connected to likely Zika virus infections in the mothers during pregnancy and three cases of lost pregnancies caused by Zika, federal health officials said on Thursday.
“The pattern that we’re seeing here in the U.S. among travelers is very similar to what we’re seeing in other places like Colombia and Brazil,” Dr. Denise Jamieson, co-leader of the CDC Zika pregnancy task force.
The six cases reported as of June 9 were included in a new U.S. Zika pregnancy registry made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency mentioned it will start regular reporting of poor result of pregnancies with laboratory proof of possible Zika virus infection in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Despite seriousd warnings from public health officials and professionals about the spread of the virus this summer, Congress has balked at approving the Obama administration’s $1.9 billion request for Zika funding request. The Senate approved $1.1 billion in funding in May. The House passed legislation that would fund $622 million, which would be taken from money already set aside for Ebola treatment.
In February, the CDC published a report on a range of results in nine pregnant travelers from the United States who had lab-confirmed Zika infections. Two women miscarried in their first trimester, two women had abortions, two pregnancies were continuing without any known complications, and, of three live births, only one had microcephaly—presumably the baby born in Hawaii.
While most adults report only small symptoms with the mosquito-borne disease, infection with the virus during early pregnancy can be far more serious. Zika has been clearly linked to a devastating birth defect known as microcephaly -- a condition where an infant is born with an extremely small head and brain.
