Babies born with unusually small heads in Brazil linked to Zika virus | Daily Mail Online comments Cases of babies born with unusually small heads continue to rise in Brazil where researchers say they have found new evidence linking the increase to the Zika virus. Microcephaly is a neurological disorder in which infants are born with smaller craniums and brains, and is believed to be caused by the mosquito-borne virus first seen in Africa in 1947. The surge of cases since the virus was first detected last year in Brazil led the ministry to link it to the fetal deformations and warn pregnant women to use insect repellent to avoid mosquito bites. Scroll down for video In this photograph, a baby named Luiza who suffers from microcephaly has her head measured by a doctor in Pernambuco state, Brazil. Researchers believe the disorder may be linked to the Zika virus Dejailson Arruda holds his daughter Luiza at their house in Santa Cruz do Capibaribe, Brazil.

Brazilian health authorities believe her condition is related to the Zika virus that infected her mother during pregnancy Elison, 10, nurses his two-month-old brother Jose Wesley, after he was born with microcephaly Scientists are unable to definitively prove the link between the condition and the Zika virus, but strongly suspect the mosquito-borne virus is responsible for the outbreak of the disorder in Brazil Angelica Pereira applys perfume to her daughter Luiza - who suffers from microcephaly - as her father Dejailson Arruda holds her at their house in Brazil Discovered in Africa in 1947, scientists remain clueless as to how the terrifying virus has struck the Americas so quickly since its first known case last year. Brazil's Ministry of Health said the number suspected cases of microcephaly increased to 3,893 by January 16 from 3,530 cases 10 days earlier. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share The number of reported deaths of deformed babies rose to 49, ministry officials said at a news conference. So far, health authorities have only confirmed six cases of microcephaly where the infant was infected with the mosquito-born Zika virus.

But on Tuesday, Brazilian researchers took another step towards proving Zika causes microcephaly. The Fiocruz biomedical center in Curitiba announced it had found Zika in the placenta of a woman who had a miscarriage, proving the virus can reach the foetus. Until now, researchers had only found Zika in the amniotic fluid of two pregnant women. A pregnant woman waits to be attended to at the Maternal and Children's Hospital in Tegucigalpa in Honduras. Women in the country have been told to avoid getting pregnant for the time being because of the Zika virus 'This is a significant advance, but we still cannot scientifically state that Zika is the cause of microcephaly,' said Jean Peron, an immunology expert who is experimenting on pregnant mice at the University of Sao Paulo's Institute of Biomedical Sciences. The Zika virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is also known to carry the dengue, yellow fever and Chikungunya viruses. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel advisory last week warning pregnant women to avoid 14 countries and territories in the Caribbean and Latin America affected by the virus. Last week, U.S.

health authorities confirmed the birth of a baby with microcephaly in Hawaii to a mother who had been infected with the Zika virus while visiting Brazil last year. In Colombia, which has the second highest Zika infection rate after Brazil, the government is advising women to delay becoming pregnant for six to eight months to avoid the risk. ZIKA VIRUS: WHAT IS IT? The Zika virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito (pictured), which is also known to carry yellow fever Zika virus is spread to people via mosquito bites. The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivtis. Infected patients are typically ill for a few days to a week. While the illness is generally mild, some experts in Brazil have suggested a possible link between the virus in pregnant women and subsequent birth defects. The CDC said recently it is aware of reports of increased numbers of babies born with microcephaly, or smaller than expected head size, in Brazil. The Ministry of Health in Brazil is concerned about a possible association between the Zika virus and increased numbers of babies born with microcephaly. There is no vaccine to prevent, or medicine to treat Zika virus.

Travellers can protect themselves, by taking steps to prevent mosquito bites. Source: CDC New Evidence Suggests Link Between Mosquito-Borne Virus and Birth Defects New Evidence Suggests Link Between Mosquito-Borne Virus and Birth Defects Go to permalink Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are raising the alarm about a potential link between a mosquito-borne virus called Zika and a dramatic increase in Brazilian babies born with microcephaly—a rare condition that results in abnormally small heads. Advertisement Since October 2015, 3,530 babies have been born with microcephaly in Brazil. During the prior year, the number was less than 150. That’s a 10-fold increase. To date, nearly 40 microcephaly-related deaths have been identified. The country is now having to deal with a growing number of children with severe developmental disorders. Microcephaly in babies can be caused by a number of things, including infections in the mother, genetic abnormalities, and exposure to toxins.

The CDC has now uncovered evidence ( PDF ) of a dengue-like virus called Zika in the placentas of two women who miscarried their babies and in the brains of two newborns who died from complications arising from microcephaly. It’s not definitive proof that Zika is causing the birth defects, but it’s certainly bolstering the case. The mere presence of Zika in brain tissue is “very significant,” as a CDC official put it in a Globe & Mail article . The situation remains mysterious. Some babies with microcephaly tested negative during the analysis. What’s more, only a small fraction of pregnant women with Zika symptoms have given birth to babies with microcephaly. Also, Brazil is currently having to contend with two related viruses, dengue and chikungunya, so it’s proving difficult for epidemiologists to isolate causal factors. Advertisement In response to the new evidence, the CDC has issued a travel advisory for those planning trips to Brazil and other countries in Latin America: CDC recommends that all people, especially pregnant women, who are traveling to Brazil and other areas in Latin America, should take precautions to avoid mosquito bites to reduce their risk of infection with Zika virus and other mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue and chikungunya.

The Zika virus is currently at pandemic levels in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. To date, there are no reports of Zika being locally transmitted in the United States., but cases have been documented in returning travelers. Because the disease rides on the back of the dreaded A. aegypti mosquito, it’s feared that parts of the United States could soon be at risk. Zika’s global reach. This is not a new disease, however. Epidemiologists have known about the Zika virus since it was first discovered in Uganda in 1947. At first a small problem, it has quickly erupted into a serious global health issue. Symptoms typically include fever, muscle aches, eye pain, and a rash. But in the six decades that Zika has been studied, the virus has not been shown to cause hemorrhagic fever or death (unlike dengue). Now, with the potential link to microcephaly, and the virus’s spread to virtually all tropical parts of the world, it’s becoming a major problem.

The World’s First Dengue Fever Vaccine Is Coming to Three Countries The World’s First Dengue Fever Vaccine Is Coming to Three Countries The World’s First Dengue Fever Vaccine Is Coming… A third of the world’s population is at risk of contracting Dengue Fever, a miserable virus that’s… Read more Read more There are no Zika vaccines in advanced development, but it’s possible that some existing vaccine platforms could be adapted. That being said, the New England Journal of Medicine says that even if a vaccine were available, the sporadic and unpredictable nature of epidemics make pre-emptive vaccination of populations “prohibitively expensive and not cost-effective.” Deploying stockpiled vaccines tends to be slow, while advanced anti-mosquito measures, such as gene drives , are still a ways off.

In the meantime, the NEJM recommends house screens, air-conditioning, and the elimination of mosquito-breeding sites, such as household waste containers—though these are “luxuries often unavailable to impoverished residents of crowded urban locales where such epidemics hit hardest.” Advertisement Sponsored The NEJM says the Zika virus is forcing scientists to confront a completely new phenomenon: the “pandemic expansion” of previously minor mosquito-borne viruses that used to be retracted to remote geographic regions. It’s reinforcing an important lesson: “[In] our human-dominated world, urban crowding, constant international travel, and other human behaviors combined with human-caused microperturbations in ecologic balance can cause innumerable slumbering infectious agents to emerge unexpectedly.” As the NEJM rightly points out, it’s time for the medical community to get cracking. Advertisement Top image: Shutterstock, middle image: Felipe Dana/Associated Press, bottom image: CDC Email the author at george@gizmodo.com and follow him @dvorsky .

Gear from Kinja Deals What's Behind Brazil's Alarming Surge in Babies Born with Small Heads - Scientific American Scientific American Health What's Behind Brazil's Alarming Surge in Babies Born with Small Heads Zika typically causes flulike aches and rash, but the rapidly spreading disease is fueling global worries about tiny-headed infants and brain damage Stumble Upon In this Dec. 23, 2015 photo, Dejailson Arruda holds his daughter Luiza at their house in Santa Cruz do Capibaribe, Pernambuco state, Brazil. Luiza was born in October with a rare condition, known as microcephaly. Luiza's mother Angelica Pereira was infected with the Zika virus after a mosquito bite. Brazilian health authorities are convinced that Luiza's condition is related to the Zika virus that infected her mother during pregnancy. Credit: AP Photo/Felipe Dana Advertisement | Report Ad Thousands of Brazil’s newborns last year had abnormally tiny heads and potentially debilitating brain damage. In 2015 the country reported nearly 3,000 cases of the incurable condition, called microcephaly—about 20 times more than the prior year.

In the nation’s northeast, where most of the cases occurred, government officials have already declared a state of emergency. Now international researchers and Brazilian authorities are rushing to tamp down the problem. The trouble is they are not sure exactly what is causing the phenomenon or how to address it. They do have one strong suspect—a mosquito-borne disease called Zika that usually causes short-term rashes and joint aches, and is plaguing the same areas in Brazil. There is already evidence the virus can cross the placental barrier: Zika has been detected in the amniotic fluid of two pregnant women with microcephalic fetuses in the state of Paraiba. What’s more, viruses from the same genus have the ability to replicate once they reach the central nervous system, providing some indication of how the viruses could potentially cause microcephaly in the first place. Zika disease, however, has never been known to cause microcephaly before. (Microcephaly is typically caused by exposure to toxic substances during pregnancy, genetic abnormalities or diseases during pregnancy like rubella or herpes). Then again, scientists also know very little about Zika.

In fact, until 2007 there were only sporadic cases of people infected with the virus (at least ones that were laboratory confirmed), with small outbreaks in Africa and Southeast Asia since being discovered in 1947 in Uganda. Now, the Zika virus is rapidly advancing across new terrain. In May 2015 Brazil reported its first case of Zika and by December 2015 the virus had made its way into several countries in Central and South America, such as Colombia and Mexico, and even showed up on the island of Puerto Rico. The rapid spread suggests a change in the Zika virus, one which scientists are racing against the clock to pinpoint. Worryingly, Zika has also been linked with the future development of Guillain–Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disease that could lead to paralysis. Researchers know a virus like Zika could mutate to become more fit, essentially allowing it to transmit more easily from one host to another in order to survive.

But a mutation designed specifically to help it cross the natural placental barrier between mother and fetus would not necessarily be too beneficial for the virus because it has been successfully transmitted in more traditional ways, says Scott Weaver, an expert on mosquito-borne viral diseases at The University of Texas Medical Branch (U.T.M.B.) at Galveston. A more likely possibility for its rapid reach, he says, is that the virus may have adapted in recent years to have a higher level of viremia, or more virus present in any given drop of blood. That would allow Zika to be transmitted at a greater rate because it would increase the chances of a mosquito picking up the virus and transmitting it to another person after biting an infected human. A fringe benefit of this viremia would be that although the virus would not have any innate increase in its ability to cross the placental barrier, its high concentration may boost its chances of making the leap. Weaver’s team at U.T.M.B. is studying the virus now in the hopes of pinning down such answers. But that work will not determine if Zika is definitely fueling the microcephaly cases.

For that, still other researchers at U.T.M.B., at the request of Brazilian authorities, are part of a larger team attempting to shore up the connection between Zika and microcephaly. Two U.T.M.B. researchers, Nikos Vasilakis and Shannan Rossi, were in Brazil over Christmas helping to set up diagnostic capabilities to test umbilical cord blood for signs of Zika at birth. The signs they are looking for lie in the newborns’ antibodies. Because the antibodies for Zika virus look so much like those for dengue or yellow fever, (both common in Brazil) it is hard to detect if a pregnant woman has contracted Zika or had one of those other conditions in the past. But lab testing of cord blood antibodies that show up in response to a recent exposure—called immunoglobulin M antibodies, or IgM—would allow scientists to detect if the fetus was infected with Zika and that it happened recently (unlike tests that would pick up longer term antibodies transmitted from the mom). Theoretically, those tests, too, may also pick up similar-looking dengue virus and confuse the results, Weaver says, but the chance of such a false positive is rare because fetal dengue infection is so uncommon.

“By trying to diagnose more of these cases at birth by sampling cord blood, they may learn more about how these fetuses were infected,” he says. Even without that data there is already some indication the Zika–microcephaly connection is more than just geographical coincidence. There have also been reports of genetic material from Zika being detected in the blood tissue of a microcephalic baby from the northern Brazilian state of Pará. (That infant died within five minutes of birth.) And, anecdotally, some of the women who went on to birth children with microcephaly also remembered having a rash during pregnancy—a potential but not definitive symptom of Zika. In addition, beyond Brazil there have been reports in French Polynesia of an unusual uptick in central nervous system problems among babies born in the past couple years in areas associated with Zika outbreaks. Further lab testing of those mothers found that at least some of them may have had asymptomatic Zika virus. But this information, by itself, is not yet airtight. In Brazil further investigations continue even as the government rolls out public health education and mosquito control efforts.

If the new cord blood information and other research soon firms up the Zika–microcephaly connection, perhaps that will add further impetus to develop a vaccine for Zika—possibly by adapting one already in use for Zika’s cousin, dengue . Zika Virus Caused by GMO Mosquitos? : snopes.com - - Claim: A recent uptick in Zika virus infections is linked to the introduction of a genetically modified mosquito farm in Brazil in 2012. UNPROVEN The Zika virus what they are not telling genetically modified mosquitoes. Something of that sort is floating around on Facebook. Thank you - ____________________________________________________________________________________ There is an article from some alternative paper circulating on Facebook that Zika virus began after genetically modified mosquitos were released into the area in 2015. I think this is nonsense , it would be nice to have confirmation. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Is the Zika virus from a genetically modified mosquitoes Origin:In January 2016, a number of news outlets reported an outbreak of the Zika virus across a number of Latin American and Caribbean countries, appearing to originate from Brazil.

On 23 January 2016, BBC published an article that confirmed the virus as a suspected factor in a sharp increase in the incidence of microcephaly: Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Jamaica recommended to delay pregnancies until more was known about the mosquito-borne Zika virus ... Brazil said the number of babies born with suspected microcephaly - or abnormally small heads - had reached nearly 4,000 since October. The link between microcephaly and Zika has not been confirmed - but a small number of babies who died had the virus in their brain and no other explanation for the surge in microcephaly has been suggested. Although the outbreak caused alarm, Zika virus was itself not new. According to a New York Times item , the virus was isolated more than half a century earlier, in April 1947: Until recently, health officials paid little attention to Zika virus. It circulated in the same regions as dengue and chikungunya, and compared to those two painful infections – nicknamed “break-bone fever” and “bending-up fever” – Zika was usually mild. The virus is thought to have reached Asia from Africa at least 50 years ago.

While it may have caused spikes in microcephaly as it first spread, there was no testing to pin down which of many possible causes was to blame ... In 2007, a Southeast Asian strain of the Zika virus began leap-frogging the South Pacific, sparking rapid outbreaks on islands where no one had immunity to it. However, the 2015-2016 outbreaks apepared to be different. The Times piece surmised that introduction to a new population was a potential factor in the microcephaly spikes: Zika was first confirmed in Brazil — a country of 200 million — last May, and it spread like wildfire. The first alarms about microcephaly were raised only in October, when doctors in the northeastern state of Pernambuco reported a surge in babies born with it. Pernambuco has nine million people and 129,000 annual births. In a typical year, nine are microcephalic infants.

On 29 January 2016, the unreliable alternative medicine web site Health Nut News published an article titled "Breaking: Zika Outbreak Epicenter in Same Area Where GM Mosquitoes Were Released in 2015." It speculated that the Zika outbreak was caused by the introduction of mosquitoes, which were genetically modified to decrease their ability to be vectors of disease, in Brazil: Zika seemingly exploded out of nowhere. Though it was first discovered in 1947, cases only sporadically occurred throughout Africa and southern Asia. In 2007, the first case was reported in the Pacific. In 2013, a smattering of small outbreaks and individual cases were officially documented in Africa and the western Pacific. They also began showing up in the Americas. In May 2015, Brazil reported its first case of Zika virus — and the situation changed dramatically. Oxitec first unveiled its large-scale, genetically-modified mosquito farm in Brazil in July 2012, with the goal of reducing “the incidence of dengue fever,” as The Disease Daily reported.

Dengue fever is spread by the same Aedes mosquitoes which spread the Zika virus — and though they “cannot fly more than 400 meters,” WHO stated, “it may inadvertently be transported by humans from one place to another.” By July 2015, shortly after the GM mosquitoes were first released into the wild in Juazeiro, Brazil, Oxitec proudly announced they had “successfully controlled the Aedes aegypti mosquito that spreads dengue fever, chikungunya and zika virus, by reducing the target population by more than 90%.” The article pointed to a Reddit thread published to the Conspiracy subreddit. Its original poster described the confluence of genetically modified mosquitoes appearing in 2012 and a Zika outbreak in 2015: Zika was first confirmed in Brazil in may of 2015, but had been seen in other nations before. Question: Why didn't it cause an epidemic of birth defects in any other countries? How exactly would you miss a tenfold increase in children born with most of their brain missing? Zika in Brazil does not seem to behave like the Zika we were familiar with before. How could the Zika catastrophe be linked to genetically modified mosquitoes? ...

What is the effect on these mosquitoes that grow up with a mutilated genome? It is thought that this should introduce a fitness cost, that is, they should have greater difficulty surviving. What do we know about these mosquitoes? Has adequate research ever been done on how a genetically mutilated mosquito copes with viral infections? Could the mosquito be more susceptible to certain pathogens, that it then passes on to humans? If a pathogen like the Zika virus can thrive in the mosquito without restraint, it could evolve into something far more dangerous than its original incarnation, pulling the lever on the slot machine with every replication until it hits the genetic jackpot. This echoed similar fears expressed in the Florida Keys in 2012, when residents feared that genetically modified mosquitoes posed unpredictable threats: Hadyn Parry, Oxitec's chief executive, said that that the company had been approached by officials in Florida after dengue fever was reported in the Keys in 2009 and 2010. "The decision to go ahead is entirely a local Floridal decision — it's not up to us," he said. The petition calls on the federal regulator the US Food and Drug Administration to withhold permission for Oxitec's mosquito to be released.

De Mier said there are too many questions left hanging, such as whether the gene introduced into the insect could itself mutate, or whether the reduction of the A. aegypti mosquito could have adverse connotations for the local ecosystem. Parry dismissed those fears. Only male mosquitoes would be released, he said, that do not bite and do not carry dengue fever. The potential implications of fear about the Zika outbreak caught the attention of the World Health Organization, which quickly released a briefing reporting that the "level of alarm [was] extremely high" and the virus was "spreading explosively" in 23 countries. It continued: Arrival of the virus in some places has been associated with a steep increase in the birth of babies with abnormally small heads and in cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome. A causal relationship between Zika virus infection and birth malformations and neurological syndromes has not yet been established, but is strongly suspected. The possible links, only recently suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika, from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions. The increased incidence of microcephaly is particularly alarming, as it places a heart-breaking burden on families and communities.

However, the release didn't mention genetically modified mosquitoes as an area of epidemiology focus. Noting that having more questions than answers was exacerbating the described alarm over the zika virus, the WHO's press release stated: Moreover, conditions associated with this year's El Nino weather pattern are expected to increase mosquito populations greatly in many areas. The level of concern is high, as is the level of uncertainty. Questions abound. We need to get some answers quickly. A 14 January 2016 U.S. News and World Report article titled "Zika Disease in Pregnant Women Can Be Devastating" reported that no fetal abnormalities were initially observed during a 2007 outbreak in French Polynesia. After the 2015 outbreak in Brazil researchers discovered that an unspecified number of microcephaly cases emerged concurrent with the 2007 outbreak, but were either unreported or not initially attributed to Zika: In a 2007 outbreak on the island of Yap, a diving mecca in Micronesia, roughly 75 percent of the island's 5,000 inhabitants were infected, says Dr. Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC's division of vector-borne diseases.

There were no birth defects reported, but that may be because the population of Yap is so small, Petersen says. A much larger outbreak was reported in French Polynesia in 2013 and 2014, affecting 30,000 people. At the time of the outbreak, no fetal abnormalities were identified, Petersen says. "When they saw what was happening in Brazil, they went back and found microcephaly cases." While the scope of those fetal abnormalities was indeterminate, it was clear public health agencies worldwide took the 2015-2016 Zika outbreak seriously. But CNN noted that the aggregate threat posed was minimal, and the spread was likely a function of countries ill-equipped to fight unusual mosquito-borne viruses: For those who aren't pregnant, most will either have no symptoms or mild ones, and it's not serious at all. Eighty percent of those affected never know they have the disease. In fact, what typically happens is that once you get it, you become immune ... However, there has also been an association with the Zika virus and Guillain-Barre syndrome, an inflammatory syndrome of the central nervous system. It occurs with bad viral infections, sometimes the flu.

But again, most people really have no problems at all. ... But it's spreading in many different countries where people are in close quarters, lots of mosquitoes are more present, and where there is a lack of screens on windows, air conditioning in buildings and insect repellent. South Africa's Sunday Times addressed credible epidemiological theories as to how the virus became a problem in previously unaffected regions: Genetic analysis of the virus revealed that the strain in Brazil was most similar to one that had been circulating in the Pacific ... Brazil had been on alert for an introduction of a new virus following the 2014 FIFA World Cup, because the event concentrated people from all over the world. However, no Pacific island nation with Zika transmission had competed at this event, making it less likely to be the source. There is another theory that Zika virus may have been introduced following an international canoe event held in Rio de Janeiro in August of 2014, which hosted competitors from various Pacific islands. Another possible route of introduction was overland from Chile, since that country had detected a case of Zika disease in a returning traveler from Easter Island. Dr. Amy Y.

Vittor, an assistant professor with University of Florida 's Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, concluded by explaining how researchers worked to untangle the causative factors to eventually slow or stop Zika's transmission: My colleagues and I are studying the role of these [myriad factors] as they relate to the outbreak of yet another mosquito-borne virus ... There, we are examining the association between deforestation, mosquito vector factors, and the susceptibility of migrants compared to indigenous people in the affected area. In our highly interconnected world which is being subjected to massive ecological change, we can expect ongoing outbreaks of viruses originating in far-flung regions with names we can barely pronounce – yet. In short, epidemiologists worldwide were hard at work to identify the cause or causes of Zika's spread in previously unaffected regions, determine the specifics of the possible link to microcephaly births, and generally resolve the many lingering questions about what was an unexpected and severe impact on pregnant women and developing fetuses. By all accounts, the Zika outbreak was both mosquito-borne and potentially severe. Epidemiologists developed some theories as to how the virus shifted course, but none have definitively been pinpointed as an absolute, supported-by-evidence factor.

Not present, however, among those developing threads was any suspicion that genetic modification of mosquitoes led to the outbreak. The only factor cited in the WHO's report was potential disruption to ecosystems by El Niño. Finally, no aspect of the rumor made any clear or distinct connection between Zika and genetically modified mosquitoes. The claims simply pointed to an outbreak after the introduction of the mosquitoes in 2012, without any additional elaboration on how one might have affected the other. If genetically modified mosquitoes were a possible factor in the spread of Zika or increase in microcephaly births, it remained extremely unlikely such a link would escape the world's epidemiology experts and be discovered only by speculation by internet commenters in Reddit's conspiracy sub. Last updated: 31 January 2016 Originally published: 29 January 2016 sources: Thank you for writing to us! Although we receive hundreds of e-mails every day, we really and truly read them all, and your comments, suggestions, and questions are most welcome. Unfortunately, we can manage to answer only a small fraction of our incoming mail.

Our site covers many of the items currently being plopped into inboxes everywhere, so if you were writing to ask us about something you just received, our search engine can probably help you find the very article you want. Choose a few key words from the item you're looking for and click here to go to the search engine. (Searching on whole phrases will often fail to produce matches because the text of many items is quite variable, so picking out one or two key words is the best strategy.) We do reserve the right to use non-confidential material sent to us via this form on our site, but only after it has been stripped of any information that might identify the sender or any other individuals not party to this communication. Your Email Zika: More than 2,500 babies born with microcephaly in Brazil, WHO predicts - The Washington Post Zika: More than 2,500 babies born with microcephaly in Brazil, WHO predicts The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you free updates as they’re published. You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published. You’re all set!

By Lena H. Sun By Lena H. Sun March 22, 2016 Follow @bylenasun General Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan, gives an update on the Zika virus in Geneva, Switzerland. (EPA/Salvatore Di Nolfi) The World Health Organization said Tuesday that it expects Brazil will have more than 2,500 babies born with a severe birth defect known as microcephaly if current trends continue in the Zika virus outbreak. Data from Brazil, the epicenter of an epidemic that has hit more than three dozen countries and territories in the Americas, show that about 39 percent of 2,212 investigated cases of microcephaly are already confirmed for the rare congenital condition. To date, that's 863 babies born with the characteristic abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains, WHO detailed at a news conference in Geneva. [ The agonizing wait of an expectant mother with Zika ] "If that rate continues, we expect more than 2,500 cases will emerge of babies with brain damage and clinical signs of microcephaly," said Anthony Costello, who heads WHO's department of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said new evidence is becoming clear daily about the mosquito-borne virus. A pattern seems to be emerging: Initial detection of Zika is followed within about three weeks by an unusual increase of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare condition that can cause paralysis and sometimes death. Detection of microcephaly and other fetal abnormalities typically comes about six months later, WHO officials said, as pregnancies of infected women come to term. 1 of 65 How countries are combating the Zika virus View Photos The mosquito-borne disease suspected of causing serious birth defects is expected to spread to all countries in the Americas except Canada and Chile and remains a global health emergency, according to the World Health Organization. Caption The mosquito-borne disease suspected of causing serious birth defects is expected to spread to all countries in the Americas except Canada and Chile and remains a global health emergency, according to the World Health Organization. Oct. 27, 2016 A health ministry worker fumigates a house to kill mosquitoes during a campaign to prevent Zika in Managua, Nicaragua. Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. Brazil and Panama are now reporting cases of microcephaly -- including 6,480 suspected cases in Brazil.

Panama has one reported case. Colombia is investigating many cases for a possible link. A WHO team is currently in Cape Verde to investigate that country's first reported case of microcephaly, Chan said. A total of 12 countries and territories have now seen an increase in the incidence of Guillain-Barré or actual lab confirmation of Zika among cases with the syndrome, she said. Although Zika has hit countries in Latin America and the Caribbean the hardest, Chan warned that no one can predict if it will spread to other parts of the world and trigger the same pattern of health complications. In other affected countries, the virus has not been circulating long enough for pregnancies to come to term, she said. "If this pattern is confirmed beyond Latin America and the Caribbean, the world will face a severe public health crisis," she said. Chan said the Zika virus initially looked "reassuringly mild," with no hospitalizations or deaths reported when it first showed up in Brazil last May. These three mothers in the Brazilian city of Recife all have children with microcephaly. Brazil has seen an outbreak of thousands of suspected cases of the birth defect.

The mothers impacted mostly come from poorer families and are now dealing with the difficult reality of caring for children with special needs. (Dom Phillips,Jason Aldag/The Washington Post) But in less than a year, she said, "the status of Zika has changed from a mild medical curiosity to a disease with severe public health implications." The possibility that a mosquito bite could be linked to severe fetal abnormalities "alarmed the public and astonished scientists," she said. The world community needs to shift thinking and preparations for the long term, she said. Countries need to build health capacity and social support to help families cope with the "heartbreaking strain" from caring for such babies. [ Zika outbreak: 'The more we learn the worse things seem to get' ] The Cape Verde archipelago off West Africa has more than than 7,000 Zika infections, including its first case last week of a newborn with microcephaly. Although the link between Zika and fetal abnormalities has not been proven, "the circumstantial evidence is now overwhelming," she said. Urgent action should not wait for definitive proof, she added. Recent studies have detailed how the pathogen could attack fetal brain development as well as trigger complications at any stage of pregnancy.

Dr Chan: Though the #Zika -fetal malformations association is not yet scientifically proven, the circumstantial evidence is now overwhelming — WHO (@WHO) March 22, 2016 In a study published last week the Lancet medical journal, researchers analyzed a 2013-2014 Zika outbreak in French Polynesia and said the risk of microcephaly is about one for every 100 women infected with the virus during the first trimester of pregnancy. The research, based on statistical and mathematical models, was conducted after the outbreak was over. Researchers cautioned, however, that outbreaks differ, and the risk will depend on how the virus spreads and the makeup of the affected population. WHO officials said they don't have enough information yet to say what the risk of microcephaly is for pregnant women in Brazil or elsewhere. Between 2001 and 2014, Brazil had, on average, about 163 cases of microcephaly a year.

Dr Chan: If this pattern is confirmed beyond Latin America and the Caribbean, the world will face a severe public health crisis #ZikaVirus — WHO (@WHO) March 22, 2016 The global health agency has convened three meetings in recent weeks to receive updates on the science, mosquito control tools and management of health complications. Chan said the most urgently needed medical priority is a reliable diagnostic test for Zika. More than 30 companies are working on, or have developed potential new tests for the virus. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week approved a tool developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that can test for Zika and two related viruses carried by the same mosquito -- dengue and chikungunya. Hundreds of those test kits are being shipped to labs in affected countries and around the United States. [ The research from this lab is helping to fight Zika around the world ] For vaccines, there are more than 23 projects underway by 14 vaccine developers in the United States, France, Brazil, India and Austria, WHO officials said.

Although clinical trials might start before the end of the year, including one underway at the National Institutes of Health, health authorities have said it will be several years at least before a fully tested, licensed Zika vaccine is ready. Although the "first explosive wave" of Zika's spread may be over before a vaccine is available, Chan said there will continue to be need for a vaccine in the years ahead."We expect it to be a long haul," she said. Read more: Mosquito-Borne Zika Virus May Be Linked to Rise of Birth Defects, Puts Officials on Alert - ABC News Mosquito-Borne Zika Virus May Be Linked to Rise of Birth Defects, Puts Officials on Alert By Gillian Mohney Jan 15, 2016, 2:38 PM ET 0 Shares WATCH Travel Warning Expected From the CDC Over the Zika Virus 0 Shares Email A virus transmitted by mosquitoes is being closely watched by health officials as they investigate whether an increase of birth defects in Brazil is linked to the pathogen, known as the Zika virus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to issue travel recommendations today or Saturday over concerns about the Zika virus and its effects on pregnant women.

The mosquito-borne illness usually results in mild symptoms such as fever, joint pain and rash, but Brazilian health officials are now investigating if it has also caused a spike in birth defects that left infants with misshapen heads, according to the CDC. Here's a rundown of important information about the Zika virus and how it is spread. What Are the Symptoms of Zika Infection? The common symptoms of Zika infection include fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis, according to the CDC. Approximately 1 in 5 people infected with the virus shows symptoms. Severe complications from Zika infection that require hospitalization are rare, and most people are over the worst of the symptoms after a week, according to the CDC. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said that when Zika infection was discovered, it appeared similar to other mosquito-transmitted illnesses, such as Chikungunya and dengue fever . "You had aches and pains in joints and muscles, and a bit more frequently than the others, you would get a rash," Schaffner said. "It was an annoyance." How Is It Transmitted?

The virus is transmitted mainly through the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same species that spreads dengue fever. The virus has been found mainly in tropical settings in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. An outbreak of the disease in Brazil led to an alert by the Pan American Health Organization last May. While people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with the disease, they have all been travelers who likely got the virus while outside the country. However, the CDC recently reported finding evidence for transmission Puerto Rico. In rare cases, the disease can be transferred from mother to child during or shortly after birth. There has also been one report of the virus spreading through sexual contact. Girl Who Survived Brain-Eating Amoeba Swims Again Is It Linked to Birth Defects? Evidence of a rise of birth defects in Brazil has health experts concerned the virus is far more dangerous than people initially thought. Dr. Lyle Petersen, head of vector-borne diseases for the CDC, told ABC News that evidence in Brazil points to a connection between Zika virus infection in pregnant women and miscarriage or birth defects.

A number of children of women who were infected with the virus while pregnant were born with microcephaly, or an abnormally small head and brain. The CDC is sending two teams to Brazil to do lab training and to see whether the virus can cause Guillain-Barre syndrome , a type of progressive paralysis that can appear after a viral infection, Petersen told ABC News on Thursday. They're also going to assess risk factors for developing microcephaly and see if they can determine when a fetus is most at risk for developing microcephaly. Early analysis of these birth defects indicates that women who are infected during their first trimester could be at greater risk for giving birth to an infant with microcephaly or other birth defects, according to the Pan American Health Organization. Is There a Vaccine? There is not currently a vaccine for the Zika virus, but Petersen said researchers at the National Institutes of Health are working to develop one. ABC News' chief health and medical editor, Dr. Richard Besser, contributed to this report.

0 Shares Brazil Zika outbreak: More babies born with birth defects - BBC News BBC News Brazil Zika outbreak: More babies born with birth defects 21 January 2016 From the section Latin America & Caribbean Related Topics Image copyright AP Image caption A 10-year-old Brazilian boy holds his two-month-old brother, who was born with microcephaly Brazil says the number of babies born with suspected microcephaly or abnormally small heads since October has now reached nearly 4,000. In the worst affected area, about 1% of newborns have suspected microcephaly. The Brazilian authorities believe the increase is caused by an outbreak of Zika virus. Just 150 babies were born with microcephaly in 2014. The brain condition can be deadly or cause intellectual disability and developmental delays. Colombia's health minister has advised women there to delay pregnancy. Media captionWhat is the Zika virus and why is it spreading across South America? Brazil's health ministry says there have been 3,893 suspected cases of microcephaly since October, when the authorities first noticed a surge, up from 3,500 in last week's report.

The link with Zika has not been confirmed, but a small number of babies who died had the virus in their brain and no other explanation for the surge in microcephaly has been suggested. Zika is generally mild and only causes symptoms in one in five people. It is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads dengue and chikungunya. Brazil is experiencing the largest known outbreak of Zika. President Dilma Rousseff, visiting Recife in the worst-affected north-east of the country, said Brazilians needed to engage in the fight against the virus. "Until we discover a vaccine, we will need to rely on the population to help us remove the conditions under which the mosquito reproduces," she said. "In the meantime we need to provide all the assistance the children and their families require." Image copyright AP Image caption Babies born with abnormally small heads may face life-long difficulties Forty-nine babies with suspected microcephaly have died, Brazil's health ministry says. In five of these cases an infection with Zika virus was found.

The Fiocruz research institute in Brazil says it has detected the virus in the placenta of a woman who miscarried in the first trimester of pregnancy - a step closer to establishing a clear link between the virus and the deformities affecting babies and foetuses. Brazil's health ministry says that 90% of notified suspected cases of microcephaly are in the north-east - and 6% in the south-east, an area which includes Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Rio de Janeiro is due to host the Olympics in August. The country is expecting 10,500 international athletes and many more spectators to attend. The worst affected states in the north-east - the poorest part of Brazil - are Paraiba, Pernambuco and Bahia. In Paraiba, the health ministry says that the number of babies born with suspected microcephaly works out as 114 per 10,000 live births - or more than 1 in 100 of all newborns. Last week, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Castro said a new testing kit was being developed to identify quickly the presence of any of the three viruses spread by the mosquito concerned - dengue, chikungunya and Zika.

He also announced extra funds to speed up the development of a vaccine for Zika. At the moment the only way to fight Zika is to clear stagnant water where mosquitoes breed, and to protect against mosquito bites. There has been a sharp rise in the number of cases of Zika in several other Latin American countries. In Colombia, more than 13,500 cases have been reported. "We are the second country [in Latin America] after Brazil in the number of reported cases," said Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria. He has advised women in the country not to get pregnant for the rest of the outbreak which, he said, could last until July. In Bolivia, the authorities have reported the first case of a pregnant woman diagnosed with Zika. "She has not travelled outside the country," Joaquin Monasterio, health chief for the eastern department of Santa Cruz, told AFP news agency. "This is a home-grown case." Image copyright AFP Image caption The disease is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert last Friday advising pregnant women to consider postponing travel to Brazil and other Latin American and Caribbean countries where outbreaks of Zika have been registered.

The travel alert applies to Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. Zika virus - Zika virus takes heartbreaking toll - Pictures - CBS News Zika virus takes heartbreaking toll Next Zika virus Brazil has been hardest hit by the Zika virus , which is thought to have arrived there in 2014 during the World Cup soccer tournament. Since then, the number of cases of illness has exploded - with estimates of at least 1.5 million people infected in Brazil alone. The World Health Organization predicts it could spread to three to four million people across the Americas in the next 12 months. The virus has been suspected of causing an increase in cases of microcephaly - children born with unusually small heads, often with brain damage . In this photo, Dejailson Arruda holds his daughter Luiza at their house in Santa Cruz do Capibaribe, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Dec. 23, 2015.

Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Homes are lit by the setting sun in Ibura, one of the neighborhoods with the highest numbers of suspected cases of children born with microcephaly in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2016. The Zika virus , a mosquito-borne illness, is the suspected culprit in more than 4,000 cases of microcephaly in the country, although the link has not yet been proven. There is no vaccine and no treatment for Zika virus. Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Gleyse Kelly da Silva, 27, holds her daughter Maria Giovanna, who was born with microcephaly, outside their house in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2016. Living in Recife in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, residents are at the epicenter of the Zika outbreak. "In Brazil, infestation rates (of the Aedes aegypti mosquito ) are highest in the northeast because of climatic reasons and socio-economic reasons, so it makes sense that ... it really took off there," explains Dr.

Albert Ko, a professor of a professor of epidemiology with the Yale School of Public Health, "It's the proverbial perfect storm." Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Aedes aegypti mosquitoes sit in a petri dish at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2016. Originally from Africa, Zika spread to Asia and was first registered in Brazil in the spring of 2015, spreading like wildfire through the northeast due in part to the region's widespread poverty, equatorial heat and chronic infestations of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads dengue fever and chikungunya . Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Daniele Ferreira dos Santos holds her son Juan Pedro, who was born with microcephaly, outside her house in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Jan. 26, 2016. Around the fifth month of her pregnancy, Daniele Ferreira dos Santos fell ill with a high fever and angry red splotches on her skin. She soon recovered.

Weeks later, when she went to the hospital for a prenatal exam, the news was horrific: The baby she was carrying likely had a severe brain injury. When Juan Pedro Campos dos Santos came into the world in Dec., the circumference of his head was just 26 centimeters (10.2 inches), about 20 percent smaller than normal. Santos was never diagnosed with Zika, but she blames the virus for her son's defect and for the terrible toll it has taken on her life. Pedro's is among some 4,100 confirmed or suspected cases of microcephaly in Brazil that may be connected to the virus, though no link has yet been proven. Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Tainara Lourenco, who is five months pregnant, sits inside her house in a slum in Recife, Brazil, Jan. 29, 2016. Like many of the estimated 400,000 women currently pregnant in Brazil, she can't afford mosquito repellent, which has skyrocketed in cost because of the scare. The government has pledged to start providing repellent to low-income women and promises to deploy the armed forces to help eliminate mosquitoes' breeding places.

Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus A doctor draws blood from Luana, who was born with microcephaly, at the Oswaldo Cruz Hospital in Recife, Brazil, Jan. 28, 2016. Brazilian officials still say they believe there's been a sharp increase in cases of microcephaly and strongly suspect that the Zika virus, which was first identified in the country last year, is to blame. Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus A researcher places an Aedes aegypti mosquito on a petri dish before analyzing it through the microscope at the Fiocruz Institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2016. Brazilian authorities warned women to postpone pregnancy because of Zika's possible risk to their unborn babies. The concern regarding the Zika virus is strong enough that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month urged pregnant women to consider avoiding travel to areas where Zika is present.

Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Elielson tries to calm his younger brother, Jose Wesley, who was born with microcephaly and screams uncontrollably for long stretches, in Bonito, Pernambuco state, Brazil, January 30, 2016. Jose's mother, Solange Ferreira, had never heard of microcephaly before her youngest son was diagnosed a couple of days after his birth. While there's never before been a detected link between Zika virus and microcephaly, "there has never been an epidemic of Zika in the proportions that we are looking at now in Brazil," said Pedro Fernando Vasconcelos, a researcher at Evandro Chagas Institute investigating an association between the virus and birth defects. Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Daniele Ferreira dos Santos holds her son Juan Pedro as he undergoes visual exams at the Altino Ventura foundation in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. "The mosquito is in all Recife. If I didn't get it here, I got it at the place I work," said Santos, a receptionist.

"We all know that the risk (of contracting a mosquito-borne illness) is high." Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus A young man swings off a tire into a polluted and slow-moving canal on January 26, 2016 in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. Mosquitoes have long been an inescapable part of the lives of the Santos family and their neighbors in a slum in Recife's Apipucos neighborhood, where raw sewage flows in ditches, rain water from the frequent downpours in this equatorial city accumulates in fetid puddles, and the shores of a nearby pond are dotted with trash. Each soda bottle, yogurt container and margarine tub provides an ideal breeding ground for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a vector for the Zika virus. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images Zika virus Gleyse Kelly da Silva holds her daughter Maria Giovanna as she sleeps in their house in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2016. Dr.

Ceuci Nunes, an infectologist at the Couto Maia Hospital in the northeastern city of Salvador, said regional officials' lax attitude toward mosquito eradication helped fan the insects' spread, leading to record numbers of cases of Zika virus as well as dengue fever. Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Municipal workers spray insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmits the Zika virus at the Imbiribeira neighborhood in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Jan. 26, 2016. In the face of the spiraling public health crisis, President Dilma Rousseff has declared war on Aedes, with the government promising to deploy some 220,000 members of the armed forces to go door-to-door to help educate the population about how to prevent the mosquito's spread. Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Jose Wesley sleeps covered by a mosquito net in Poco Fundo, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Dec. 23, 2015. Jose struggles to feed, something common in children with neurological disorders like microcephaly.

Wesley's mother, Solange Ferreira, moved with Jose to Bonita, leaving her husband in their old village so she could be closer to they city Recife to get therapy for her son. Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Solange Ferreira bathes her son, Jose Wesley, in a bucket at their house in Poco Fundo, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Dec. 23, 2015. Jose Wesley cries incessantly and Ferreira says her son enjoys being in the water. She places him in the bucket several times a day to calm him; a solution she learned from a nurse at the hospital. Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Dr. Angela Rocha shows brain scans of a baby born with microcephaly at the Oswaldo Cruz Hospital in Recife, Brazil, Jan. 28, 2016. Brazil once succeeded in virtually eliminating the Aedes aegypti mosquito, but in recent decades the mosquito population has resurged. The mosquito which spreads Zika virus is well adapted to humans, lives within people's homes and can breed in just a bottle cap of stagnant water.

Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae sit in a petri dish at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2016. Massive eradication efforts in the 1940s and 1950s allowed the country to be declared free of the mosquito in 1958, but over the decades the insect returned, slowly encroaching from neighboring countries and finding fertile breeding ground in Brazil's sprawling, unplanned cities, with their limited potable water systems and garbage collection. Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Jennipher Karine looks inside a room as her brother Juan Pedro, who was born with microcephaly, undergoes exams at the Altino Ventura foundation in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Jan. 28, 2016. Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Daniele Ferreira dos Santos, center right, stands outside her house as her ex-husband holds their son Juan Pedro, who has microcephaly, outside her house in Recife, Brazil, Jan. 26, 2016.

Almost from birth, Pedro cried ceaselessly, as do many babies with microcephaly. Her husband was annoyed by the baby's constant fussing, which distracted him from his television show, she said, and then within weeks of the baby's arrival, he left the house with the family's flat-screen TV. Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Angelica Pereira, right, comforts her daughter Luiza as she waits for their appointment with a neurologist at the Mestre Vitalino Hospital in Caruaru, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Dec. 22, 2015. Luiza was born in October with a head that was just 11.4 inches (29 centimeters) in diameter, more than an inch (3 centimeters) below the range defined as healthy by doctors. Her condition, known as microcephaly, often results in mental retardation. Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Dejailson Arruda holds his daughter Luiza at their house in Santa Cruz do Capibaribe, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Dec. 23, 2015. Luiza's mother Angelica Pereira was infected with the Zika virus after a mosquito bite.

Brazilian health authorities are convinced that Luiza's condition is related to the Zika virus that infected her mother during pregnancy. In November, Brazilian researchers detected the Zika virus genome in amniotic fluid samples from two women whose fetuses were been diagnosed with microcephaly by ultrasound exams, the Pan American Health Organization reported. Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Elielson, 10, holds his 2-month-old brother Jose Wesley, who was born with microcephaly, at their house in Poco Fundo, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Dec. 23, 2015. His mother, Solange, sadly said, "Now I have started believing that it is actually the other babies that have heads to are too big. Jose is my new normal." Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus Jose Wesley sleeps over a large pillow on his mother's bead in Bonito, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Jan. 30, 2016. The boy has lost weight, from 7 to 5 kilograms (15 to 11 pounds), a huge drop for a baby who should be growing.

Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Zika virus A Brazilian Army soldier inspects a tank in front of a house while canvassing a neighborhood in an attempt to eradicate the larvae of the mosquito which causes the Zika virus, while informing the public of preventive methods, on January 25, 2016 in Recife, Brazil. "Because of irregular water distribution, many people, especially in poorer areas collect water in tanks ... creating ideal breeding grounds for the mosquitoes," said Dr. Ceuci Nunes, an infectologist at the Couto Maia Hospital in the northeastern city of Salvador. "The same goes with trash, which often goes uncollected." Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images Zika virus Dr. Vanessa Van Der Linden, the neuro-pediatrician who first recognized the microcephaly crisis in Brazil, measures the head of a 2-month-old baby with microcephaly on January 27, 2016 in Recife, Brazil. The baby's mother was diagnosed with having the Zika virus during her pregnancy. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Zika virus outbreak is likely to spread throughout nearly all the Americas.

At least 31 cases in the United States have now been confirmed by the CDC, all in travelers who were infected abroad. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Question: What mosquito-borne virus is thought to have caused an increase in children born with microcephaly (small heads)?
Answer: Zika Virus