First baby with Zika-related microcephaly born in Florida

First baby with Zika-related microcephaly born in Florida

Mother came to Florida from Haiti to deliver child, health officials say

VIDEO REPORT AT LINK.

By Amanda Batchelor - Senior Digital Editor , Glenna Milberg - Reporter
Posted: 10:10 AM, June 28, 2016Updated: 9:49 PM, June 28, 2016

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health confirms the first Zika-related microcephaly birth in Florida.
The birth mother is a Haitian national who came to Florida to give birth. She was infected with the Zika virus in Haiti.

Officials will not disclose the hospital where the woman gave birth.

Gov. Rick Scott and Florida Surgeon General Celeste Philip participated in a Zika roundtable discussion in Palm Beach County Tuesday morning to discuss the issue.

"I've asked the CDC to do another phone call with all of our health care providers so they can continue to educate the public," Scott said. "You heard just in our conversation here: the most important thing is all of us are responsible. We've got to get rid of the standing water so we don't have these mosquitoes breed in our yard or anywhere we are. If we can stop the mosquitoes, we can make sure that we don't have an expansion of more Zika cases in our state."

There have previously been two other Zika-related microcephaly births in the United States, one in Hawaii and one in New Jersey, according to a DOH representative.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Zika virus typically causes a mild rash, fever and joint pain. Only one in five people infected with the virus are symptomatic, but the virus can cause serious problems for pregnant women.

"CDC recommends that women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant postpone travel to Zika affected areas," the DOH said in a statement Tuesday. "According to CDC guidance, providers should consider testing all pregnant women with a history of travel to a Zika affected area for the virus. CDC also recommends that a pregnant woman with a history of Zika virus and her provider should consider additional ultrasounds."

Microcephaly is a rare neurological condition in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and incomplete brain development.

Health officials said microcephaly is usually the result of the brain developing abnormally in the womb or not growing as it should after birth.

Babies born with the defect often have a range of problems, including developmental delay, intellectual disability, problems with movement and balance, hearing loss and vision problems.

According to the Mayo Clinic, there is no treatment for microcephaly, but speech and occupational therapies might help enhance a child's development.

Florida health officials said Tuesday there have been 227 confirmed travel-related Zika virus cases in the state, including 40 pregnant women. Miami-Dade County leads the state with 65 confirmed cases.

http://www.local10.com/health/first-...orn-in-florida

Tue Jun 28, 2016 5:12pm EDTRelated: U.S., HEALTH
First baby with Zika-related birth defect microcephaly born in Florida

BY COLLEEN JENKINS

A Haitian woman in Florida has delivered the first baby in the state born with the birth defect microcephaly caused by the Zika virus, Florida's health department said on Tuesday.

The mother contracted the mosquito-borne virus in her home country and traveled to Florida to give birth, state officials said in statements.

If confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the child will be the fifth in the United States to be born with a birth defect linked with travel to a country in which Zika is circulating.
Another four pregnant women lost their babies as a result of travel-related Zika infections, according to the latest CDC report as of June 16. So far, there have not been any cases of Zika in the United States arising from local mosquito transmission.

The CDC's U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry does not specify the states where those cases occurred. Cases of babies with microcephaly previously were reported in Hawaii and New Jersey.

U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by unusually small head size and potentially severe developmental problems.

The U.S. cases so far involve women who contracted the virus outside the United States in areas with active Zika outbreaks, or were infected through unprotected sex with an infected partner.

Health experts expect local transmission to occur in the United States as mosquito season gets underway, particularly in states such as Florida and Texas.

Florida Governor Rick Scott signed an executive order last week that allocated about $26 million for Zika preparation and response in the state. But in Washington on Tuesday, funding to battle the virus failed to advance in the U.S. Senate.

The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers.
The World Health Organization has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika also can cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-zika-florida-idUSKCN0ZE2B1