CDC confirms 9 Zika pregnancies in U.S.

Credit: Kevin C. Cox

Credit: Kevin C. Cox


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that nine pregnant women with the Zika virus are in the U.S.

Health officials said that two of the pregnancies were aborted, two more ended in miscarriage and one baby was born with microcephaly. The CDC reported that two babies were born healthy.

Two mothers are still pregnant.

The CDC is investigating possible Zika infections in 10 other pregnant women in the U.S.

Zika virus, an illness transmitted to people through mosquito bites, has recently been linked to a congenital condition that causes newborns to have unusually small heads. Microcephaly, causes smaller than normal cerebrums in babies and improperly developed brains.

Symptoms of the virus include fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes.

Scientists first started exploring the connection between Zika virus and birth defects when a significant uptick in mosquito-borne illness and microcephaly was discovered in Brazil.

Read more here.