Jump to content

CDC Cites Six Zika Linked Microcephaly Cases In United States


Recommended Posts

Posted

Outcomes of Pregnancies with Laboratory Evidence of Possible Zika Virus Infection in the United States, 2016

 

Pregnancy Outcomes in the United States and the District of Columbia

Liveborn infants with birth defects*

3

Includes aggregated data reported to the US Zika Pregnancy Registry as of June 9, 2016

Pregnancy losses with birth defects**

3

Includes aggregated data reported to the US Zika Pregnancy Registry as of June 9, 2016

 

What these numbers show

  • These numbers reflect poor outcomes among pregnancies with laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection reported to the US Zika Pregnancy Registry.
  • The number of live-born infants and pregnancy losses with birth defects are combined for the 50 US states and the District of Columbia. To protect the privacy of the women and children affected by Zika, CDC is not reporting individual state, tribal, territorial or jurisdictional level data.
  • The poor birth outcomes reported include those that have been detected in infants infected with Zika before or during birth, including microcephaly, calcium deposits in the brain indicating possible brain damage, excess fluid in the brain cavities and surrounding the brain, absent or poorly formed brain structures, abnormal eye development, or other problems resulting from damage to brain that affects nerves, muscles and bones, such as clubfoot or inflexible joints.

What these new numbers do not show

  • These numbers are not real time estimates. They will reflect the outcomes of pregnancies reported with any laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection as of 12 noon every Thursday the week prior; numbers will be delayed one week.
  • These numbers do not reflect outcomes among ongoing pregnancies.
  • Although these outcomes occurred in pregnancies with laboratory evidence of Zika virus infection, we do not know whether they were caused by Zika virus infection or other factors.

Where do these numbers come from?

  • These data reflect pregnancies reported to the US Zika Pregnancy Registry. CDC, in collaboration with state, local, tribal and territorial health departments, established this registry for comprehensive monitoring of pregnancy and infant outcomes following Zika virus infection.  
  • The data collected through this system will be used to update recommendations for clinical care, to plan for services and support for pregnant women and families affected by Zika virus, and to improve prevention of Zika virus infection during pregnancy.

* Includes microcephaly, calcium deposits in the brain indicating possible brain damage, excess fluid in the brain cavities and surrounding the brain, absent or poorly formed brain structures, abnormal eye development, or other problems resulting from damage to brain that affects nerves, muscles and bones, such as clubfoot or inflexible joints.

**Includes miscarriage, stillbirths, and terminations with evidence of the birth defects mentioned above

 
 
 
Posted

For Immediate Release: Thursday, June 16, 2016

 

MEDIA AVAILABILITY

 

CDC Begins Reporting Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes of Women Affected by Zika Virus During Pregnancy

 

 

WHAT:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will begin reporting poor outcomes of pregnancies with laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection. Starting today, CDC will report two types of outcomes:

·         Live-born infants with birth defects and

·         Pregnancy losses with birth defects

 

These numbers for US states and the District of Columbia come from the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry. In coming weeks, CDC will begin reporting Zika-linked poor pregnancy outcomes in the U.S. territories.

 

Zika virus infection during pregnancy has been linked to adverse outcomes including pregnancy loss and microcephaly. Despite these observations, little is known about the risks of Zika virus infection during pregnancy. To understand more about Zika, CDC, in collaboration with state, local, tribal and territorial health departments, established the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry to actively monitor pregnancies for a broad range of poor outcomes. The poor birth outcomes reported today include those that are known to be caused by Zika (e.g., microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects) as well as others linked to Zika infection during pregnancy (e.g., eye defects).

 

CDC’s top priority for the Zika response is to protect pregnant women and women of childbearing age because of the potential risks associated with Zika virus infection during pregnancy. Reporting the poor outcomes of pregnancies with any laboratory evidence of Zika virus infection will contribute to our understanding of the ongoing effect of Zika virus among pregnant women in US and ensure that the most up-to-date information about pregnancy outcomes linked with Zika virus is publicly available. In addition, the information is essential for planning at the federal, tribal, state, and local levels for clinical, public health, and other services needed to support pregnant women and families affected by Zika.

 

WHO:
Denise J. Jamieson, MD, Chief, Women’s Health and Fertility Branch, Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and co-lead of the CDC Zika pregnancy task force 

 

CONTACT:
To schedule interviews, please contact (404) 639-3286, [email protected]

 

Posted
BREAKING NEWS

Three US infants have been born with Zika-related birth defects, CDC says

 
 

Three infants in the United States have been born with birth defects linked to the Zika virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

Three other pregnancies in the US have also been affected but they were not carried to term, the agency said. It listed them as “pregnancy losses” and did not specify if the pregnancies ended in miscarriage or were terminated.

It was not immediately clear how or where the mothers in each case were infected. The CDC has not yet reported any cases of local transmission of Zika in the US.

The figures were posted on the CDC’s website on Thursday, the first time the agency has provided a tally of Zika-linked pregnancies and birth defects in the United States.

The CDC reported that, as of June 9, 234 pregnant women in the US and 189 women in US territories have been diagnosed with the Zika virus.

Zika infection during pregnancy can cause significant birth defects in the developing fetus including microcephaly, a condition in which infants are born with abnormally small heads and sometimes underdeveloped brains.

Some of these cases have already been reported publicly. In January, a woman in Hawaii who had been infected with Zika in Brazil early in her pregnancy gave birth to a baby with severe microcephaly. And the CDC reported in February that two women had miscarried after having contracted Zika abroad. Testing of the fetuses confirmed Zika infection.

It is not clear if the figures include a woman who recently gave birth in New Jersey. The woman, believed to be from Honduras, gave birth in the US to a baby with microcephaly.

Helen Branswell can be reached at [email protected] 
Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenBranswell 

https://www.statnews.com/2016/06/16/zika-virus-birth-defects/

 

Posted
HEALTH
 
ZIKA VIRUS OUTBREAK
 

Six Cases of Zika Virus-Linked Birth Defects in US, CDC Says

Three babies have been born with birth defects linked to the Zika virus in the United States, and three more have been lost to miscarriages or aborted because of the birth defects, federal health officials said Thursday.

All of the women were infected with Zika by travel, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. But the CDC also expects localized outbreaks of Zika in the U.S. as mosquito season starts. Puerto Rico already has an epidemic and has also reported at least one Zika-associated birth defect.

Image: Nancy Trinidad, who is 32 weeks pregnant, listens to the explanation of a doctor about how to prevent Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya viruses at a public hospital in San Juan
 
Nancy Trinidad, who is 32 weeks pregnant, listens to the explanation of a doctor about how to prevent Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya viruses at a public hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 3, 2016. REUTERS/Alvin Baez ALVIN BAEZ / Reuters

"The poor birth outcomes reported include those that have been detected in infants infected with Zika before or during birth, including microcephaly, calcium deposits in the brain indicating possible brain damage, excess fluid in the brain cavities and surrounding the brain, absent or poorly formed brain structures, abnormal eye development, or other problems resulting from damage to brain that affects nerves, muscles and bones, such as clubfoot or inflexible joints," the CDC said in a statement.

Related: CDC Follows Pregnant U.S. Women With Zika

"These numbers are not real time estimates. They will reflect the outcomes of pregnancies reported with any laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection as of 12 noon every Thursday the week prior; numbers will be delayed one week."

The CDC says 234 pregnant women in the United States, both residents and visitors, have been diagnosed with Zika. Another 189 cases have been reported in U.S. territories, mostly Puerto Rico.

Thursday's six cases do not include Puerto Rico or other territories, CDC said.

Related: CDC Confirms Birth Defects in Puerto Rico Fetus

"Unfortunately I think it is not surprising. I think it is consistent with what we have seen in Brazil and Colombia," said the CDC's Dr. Denise Jamieson, who is heading up the agency watch on Zika-affected pregnancies.

"Some, but not all, of the infants have had evidence of Zika virus infection," Jamieson told NBC News.

"What we are reporting is moms who had laboratory evidence of Zika virus infection and the baby had birth defects consistent with Zika virus infection."

Related: Pregnancy and the Zika Virus

CDC and the World Health Organization now say there is no doubt that Zika causes birth defects. They also say there's no doubt that, like many other infections, it can cause rare neurological complications including Guillain-Barre syndrome.

"Although these outcomes occurred in pregnancies with laboratory evidence of Zika virus infection, we do not know whether they were caused by Zika virus infection or other factors," CDC said.

The CDC did not identify the cases in any way but two cases of Zika-affected babies are known about: a Honduran woman who gave birth in New Jersey last month and a woman in Hawaii whose baby was born with microcephaly.

The CDC advises pregnant women, or women who might become pregnant, to stay away from areas where Zika's spreading. And anyone in a Zika-affected area is advised to prevent mosquito bites with clothing, repellent and by staying indoors.

Because Zika can also be sexually transmitted, CDC says any man who may have been infected, even if he doesn't have symptoms, needs to take care not to infect sexual partners who could be pregnant or become pregnant.

Posted

CDC: 3 Babies Born in US With Birth Defects Caused by Zika

  •  

 

Three babies with birth defects caused by Zika have been born in the U.S., the government reported Thursday in its first accounting of pregnancy outcomes involving the virus.

Birth defects from Zika were also seen in three other pregnancies that ended.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been tracking the pregnancies of women with Zika infections since the beginning of the year. So far, 234 pregnant women — residents and visitors — have been diagnosed with Zika.

Some babies have been born with no immediate signs of problems, according to the CDC's Dr. Denise Jamieson, but she would not say how many. Most of the pregnancies are ongoing.

All the cases are connected to travel to areas with outbreaks of the mosquito-borne virus, primarily Latin America and the Caribbean. There's been no local spread of Zika in the U.S.

The health agency provided few details about the women, their pregnancies, the birth defects or their severity. Three cases ended in "pregnancy loss" but the CDC did not say whether it was from miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion.

Jamieson said the six cases of birth defects involved some women who had not experienced Zika symptoms. Most people infected never develop symptoms. Others get a fever, rash, joint pain, or red eyes, and recover within a week.

But during the Zika epidemic in Brazil, the virus was identified as a cause of fetal deaths and potentially devastating birth defects.

In its birth defects numbers, the CDC is counting a range of conditions. Chief among them is microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which a baby's skull is much smaller than expected because the brain hasn't developed properly.

But also in the count are calcium deposits in the brain; excess fluid in and around the brain; abnormal eye development; and other problems resulting from damage to the brain that can include clubfoot or inflexible joints.

The CDC's Jamieson said the numbers are concerning but consistent with what's been seen in other countries affected by Zika outbreaks.

Researchers estimate that for every 100 pregnancies involving women infected early in their pregnancy, 1 percent to 15 percent will develop severe birth defects.

The CDC report appears to include the two known cases of babies born in the U.S. with Zika-caused birth defects. One was a baby girl born to a Honduran woman at a New Jersey hospital. The other was born in Hawaii to a woman who had lived in Brazil. Jamieson wouldn't confirm the two were included, but said the cases meet the criteria.

The virus is spread mainly through the bite of a tropical mosquito called Aedes aegypti. It can be found in the southern United States, but there's no evidence that they've been spreading the virus in the U.S. yet.

Overall, 756 cases of Zika have been reported in the 50 states and theDistrict of Columbia. All were people who had traveled to outbreak areas, or who had sex with someone who did.

In Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories, 189 pregnant women are among those infected with Zika; the CDC did not report on birth defects there.

———

Online:

CDC Zika page: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/index.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/cdc-babies-born-us-birth-defects-caused-zika-39910031

 

Posted

Six Babies and Fetuses in U.S. Had Birth Defects Tied to Zika

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports data as of June 9

 
A mosquito of the Aedes Aegypti type that can carry the Zika virus photographed in a lab in Cali, Colombia.
A mosquito of the Aedes Aegypti type that can carry the Zika virus photographed in a lab in Cali, Colombia. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Zika has been tied to birth defects in the babies and fetuses of six women in the U.S. infected with the virus during their pregnancies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

Three women have given birth to infants with birth defects tied to Zika, such as microcephaly and brain damage, the CDC said, citing data reported to its U.S. Zika pregnancy registry as of June 9.

Three others lost babies with birth defects, either through miscarriage, stillbirths or termination of their pregnancies. The data are collected from U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

How the Zika Virus Spreads From Mother to Fetus

 
New studies have shed light on how the Zika virus -- which can cause serious birth defects -- may be transmitted from infected mother to unborn child. Image: Dr. Indira U. Mysorekar, Dr. Bin Cao/Washington University

The CDC has said Zika can cause congenital abnormalities that include severe brain damage such as absent or malformed brain structures, calcium deposits that signal inflammation in the brain, abnormal eye development and other damage that affects nerves, muscles and bones. Such birth defects have been documented in Brazil, Colombia and other countries as well as Puerto Rico.

Denise Jamieson, co-lead of a pregnancy and birth-defects task force for the CDC’s Zika response, called the findings “concerning” and said they serve as a reminder that pregnant women should avoid travel to areas where Zika is circulating.

“U.S. travelers are at risk for these outcomes,” she said. “The pattern that we’re seeing here is very similar to the pattern that we’re seeing other places.”

Write to Betsy McKay at [email protected]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/six-babies-and-fetuses-in-u-s-had-birth-defects-tied-to-zika-1466101655

 

Posted

CDC: 6 pregnancies in Zika-infected women resulted in birth defects

 
 
PreggoZika.jpg&w=1484
(CDC)

Despite dire warnings from public health officials and experts about the spread of the virus this summer, Congress has balked at approving the Obama administration’s $1.9 billion request for Zika funding. The Senate approved $1.1 billion in funding in May. The House passed legislation that would provide $622 million, which would be drawn from money already set aside for Ebola programs.

In April, the administration redirected more than $500 million from Ebola funds to get geared up for Zika, but CDC Director Tom Frieden and other experts say Congress needs to act immediately so expanded measures can be put into place and be most effective when cases surface.

In particular, Frieden has said the funds are needed to allow more people, especially pregnant women, to more easily get tested and get a prompt result, and to conduct ongoing studies about Zika's long-term developmental impact on children.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/06/16/cdc-6-zika-infected-u-s-babies-have-had-birth-defects/

 

Posted

CDC: 6 pregnancies in Zika-infected women resulted in birth defects

 
 
PreggoZika.jpg&w=1484
(CDC)

Despite dire warnings from public health officials and experts about the spread of the virus this summer, Congress has balked at approving the Obama administration’s $1.9 billion request for Zika funding. The Senate approved $1.1 billion in funding in May. The House passed legislation that would provide $622 million, which would be drawn from money already set aside for Ebola programs.

In April, the administration redirected more than $500 million from Ebola funds to get geared up for Zika, but CDC Director Tom Frieden and other experts say Congress needs to act immediately so expanded measures can be put into place and be most effective when cases surface.

In particular, Frieden has said the funds are needed to allow more people, especially pregnant women, to more easily get tested and get a prompt result, and to conduct ongoing studies about Zika's long-term developmental impact on children.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/06/16/cdc-6-zika-infected-u-s-babies-have-had-birth-defects/

 

Three women in the U.S. mainland infected with the Zika virus have delivered infants with birth defects and three others have lost or terminated pregnancies because their fetuses suffered brain damage from the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

The agency said it was not providing details about where the births occurred to protect the privacy of the women and children affected by the mosquito-borne virus. The information released Thursday is the first time the agency has provided a total number of Zika-related birth defects since the start of the U.S. response earlier this year.

The problems include a rare and severe birth defect known as microcephaly, which is characterized by abnormally small heads and often underdeveloped brains, as well as an array of other fetal abnormalities.

Other complications include calcium deposits in the brain indicating possible brain damage; excess fluid in the brain cavities and surrounding the brain; missing or poorly formed brain structures; abnormal eye development; and other problems resulting from damage to the brain that affects nerves, muscles and bones, such as clubfoot or inflexible joints, officials said.

The problems are consistent with the damage caused by Zika virus infections reported in other countries with Zika outbreaks, including Brazil and Colombia.

The information released Thursday provides additional details about the impact of the virus on pregnant women in the United States. The agency is monitoring 234 pregnant women with Zika on the U.S. mainland who contracted the virus through travel or an infected partner; another 189 are being monitored in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories.

Widespread local transmission already is occurring in Puerto Rico, and officials expect that about 20 percent of the island’s 3.5 million residents could become infected.

In the coming weeks, the CDC will begin reporting Zika-linked pregnancy outcomes in the U.S. territories.

In February, the CDC detailed what happened to nine pregnant women in the United States who had been infected with Zika. Two of those women chose to have abortions; two others suffered miscarriages; one gave birth to an infant with serious birth defects; and two others delivered healthy infants. At the time, two were still pregnant. Officials said the outcomes reported in February did not necessarily have birth defects.

Earlier in the year, there were only a few known cases of microcephaly in the United States. With the information about these six cases, "we feel we can report in aggregate without reporting specifics and where the outcomes are occurring," said Denise Jamieson, the chief of CDC's women's health and fertility branch, in an interview.

A baby with microcephaly was born to a Zika-infected woman in Hawaii in January. The mother had lived in Brazil last year and probably was infected by a mosquito early in her pregnancy, the Hawaii state health department has said.

Last month, a baby with severe microcephaly and other birth defects was born in New Jersey to a Honduran woman. The girl was the first to be born to a Zika-infected mother on the U.S. mainland.  Not only does the baby have microcephaly, doctors said, but she is also suffering from intestinal issues and “structural abnormalities of the eye.”

The CDC said the agency is providing additional information now so people will have the most up-to-date information about pregnancy risks associated with Zika virus infection during pregnancy.

Recent studies have detailed increasing evidence about the potentially devastating consequences for Zika-infected pregnant women.

A troubling finding released Wednesday by researchers studying the Zika outbreak in Colombia reported that even pregnant women who don't show symptoms of infection are at risk of having babies with microcephaly.

In Brazil, pregnant women infected with Zika during their first trimester face as high as a 13 percent chance that their fetus will develop microcephaly, researchers reported last month.

"What we're seeing is a very consistent pattern underscoring the fact that Zika causes microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities," Jamieson said. "This highlights the importance of preventing unintended pregnancies, avoiding mosquito bites and for pregnant women to avoid traveling to areas with ongoing Zika virus transmission."

U.S. officials are anticipating local cases of Zika infection because the mosquito that is the primary vector, Aedes aegypti, is found throughout the South as well as in parts of the Southwest and even Midwest. But they do not expect an explosion of cases, as has been seen in Puerto Rico and some countries in the Caribbean and South America.

Posted

Zika complications seen in 6 US pregnancies so far

Stepping up the level of detail in its reporting on Zika infections in pregnant women, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today started announcing poor birth outcomes from US states, noting six instances of birth defects—three involving live births.

In a related development, a Spanish team today reported the details of a congenital Zika infection in the fetus of a woman who had been infected with the virus in Venezuela.

Three live births among 6 poor outcomes

The CDC has been gradually ramping up the information it shares on Zika infections in pregnant women.

On May 20 it announced a change in the way it reports the number of Zika infections in pregnant women to include those with lab-confirmed asymptomatic illnesses, which it said provides a more complete picture of the impact of the disease on pregnant women. At the time, CDC officials said they held off on reporting birth defect numbers because of incomplete details and privacy concerns.

The numbers it released today, based on information as of Jun 9, are from one of the CDC's two Zika pregnancy registries: the one that pertains to women in US states and the District of Colombia, which reflects travel-related cases. The CDC added that in the coming weeks it will report poor pregnancy outcomes from the second registry, the one that tracks Zika infections in US territories.

So far three US infants have been born live with Zika related birth defects, a group of conditions that include microcephaly, other brain abnormalities, eye problems, and a host of nerve, muscle, and joint issues. Three women infected with Zika virus have had pregnancy losses—miscarriages, stillbirths, and abortions—with birth defects.

The cases are from 234 US women who have had any lab evidence of possible Zika virus infection as of Jun 9. During the same timeframe, 189 infections in pregnant women have been reported from the US territories, according to a CDC update yesterday.

Officials declined to break down the poor pregnancy outcomes by state due to privacy issues, but some details about some cases are already known, such as severe microcephaly in a baby born to a Hawaiian woman who had spent time in Brazil and a baby born recently to a Honduran woman in a New Jersey hospital.

In February, the CDC published a report on a range of outcomes in nine pregnant travelers from the United States who had lab-confirmed Zika infections. Two women had 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.

In today's case update, the CDC included a caveat: Though the poor outcomes occurred alongside lab evidence of Zika infection, it's not known whether the defects were caused by Zika virus or other factors.

Congenital Zika case in Spain

The report on the Zika-related congenital malformations detected in Spain was published today in the latest edition of Eurosurveillance. The authors said the problems were found when the woman in her 20s visiting from Venezuela was admitted to a hospital in March for routine follow-up when she was 17 weeks pregnant.

The patients said she had experienced a rash in January, and an ultrasound at 12 weeks gestation was normal.

Exploring the possibility of Zika virus infection, Spanish clinicians confirmed recent Zika virus infection on serology and molecular tests. Ultrasound done at 19 weeks showed fetal hydrocephalus and extensive muscle and joint problems. Tests on amniotic fluid detected Zika RNA, but ruled out other infections.

Due to severe malformations and brain problems in the fetus, the woman had an abortion at 21 weeks gestation. Autopsy confirmed the musculoskeletal defects and hydrocephalus but ruled out microcephaly. Tests confirmed Zika virus in samples from the umbilical cord and brain tissue, but not the placenta.

Other developments

  • In its weekly Zika situation report today, the World Health Organization (WHO) said one more country—El Salvador—has reported a Zika-linked microcephaly case, raising the number reporting such birth defects to 12. The WHO said it still doesn't see an overall decline in the outbreak, though cases have dropped in some countries or parts of countries. So far its risk assessment hasn't changed.
     
  • In an update today. the CDC reported more local Zika infections in US territories and more travel-related cases in US states. Affected territories reported 135 more illnesses last week, raising the total number of local cases to 1,436. One fewer related Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) was reported in the territories, dropping that number to 6. In US states, 64 more travel-related Zika cases were reported, along with the recent lab-acquired case in Pennsylvania, putting the overall total at 756. The number of sexually transmitted Zika cases remained the same, at 11, and 1 more GBS cases was reported in US states, lifting that total to 3.

See also:

Jun 16 CDC media statement

CDC Zika pregnancy outcome page

CDC Zika pregnancy cases page

May 20 CIDRAP News story "Reporting change, rising cases vault US Zika pregnancy cases to 279"

Jun 16 Eurosurveill report

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2016/06/zika-complications-seen-6-us-pregnancies-so-far

 

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...