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First Baby Born With Zika-Related Condition Is Reported in New York City A Grim First: New York City Reports Baby Born With a Zika-Related Defect
(about 2 hours later)
Health officials on Friday reported the first baby born in New York City with the Zika-related birth defect known as microcephaly, a condition marked by an abnormally small head and impaired brain development.Health officials on Friday reported the first baby born in New York City with the Zika-related birth defect known as microcephaly, a condition marked by an abnormally small head and impaired brain development.
“While not surprising, given the travel trends of our global city, this case is a strong reminder of the tragic consequences of the Zika virus,” Dr. Mary T. Bassett, New York City’s health commissioner, said in a statement. “We are monitoring the baby’s health closely and connecting the family with the necessary services to take care of their child. The virus has caused more than 1,500 children to be born with birth defects around the world, mostly in Brazil. As it continues to spread, doctors are struggling to understand the virus and to prepare for its effects.
The baby in New York is one of a growing number of children born in the United States with microcephaly, a condition that requires intensive care and can lead to a host of other problems including seizures, vision and hearing loss, and intellectual disability.
Since this spring there have been reports of about a dozen cases of children born with Zika-related microcephaly in the country, including cases in New Jersey and Florida.
As in those instances, the New York mother is believed to have been infected while traveling to one of the roughly 50 countries where Zika is endemic.
Health officials declined to provide more details about the case, but said the baby was born at a city hospital and had tested positive for the virus.
“While not surprising, given the travel trends of our global city, this case is a strong reminder of the tragic consequences of the Zika virus,” Dr. Mary T. Bassett, the New York City health commissioner, said in a statement. “We are monitoring the baby’s health closely and connecting the family with the necessary services to take care of their child.”
As of last week, 2,000 pregnant women in the city who have traveled to areas where there is active transmission of Zika had requested testing. Of those who have been tested, 41 have been confirmed to have the virus as of July 15.
“I remind all pregnant women in New York City, and those trying to get pregnant, that they should delay travel to places where there is active Zika transmission,” Dr. Bassett said. “As we see today, the consequences for the child can be devastating.”“I remind all pregnant women in New York City, and those trying to get pregnant, that they should delay travel to places where there is active Zika transmission,” Dr. Bassett said. “As we see today, the consequences for the child can be devastating.”
As of last week, 2,000 pregnant women in the city who have traveled to areas where there is active transmission of Zika had requested testing. The virus is most often transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, but there is increasing concern about other means.
Of those who have been tested, 41 had been confirmed to have been infected with the Zika virus as of July 15. The risk of sexual transmission has been a mounting concern and last week, the city health department reported the first case of a woman passing the virus to a man through intercourse.
At least a half dozen infants have been born in the United States with defects related to the Zika infection. More recently, a Zika case in Utah raised new questions because it did not appear to be transmitted through sex or by mosquito.
The Utah patient, who has fully recovered, was a “family contact” who provided care for an older man who had become infected with the virus after traveling abroad.
As that case illustrated, much about the virus remains unknown, including how exactly it is able to travel from mother to fetus, a capacity that is not common among viruses.
While most people infected with Zika suffer only a mild illness, it poses a great danger to women who are pregnant . For a pregnant woman infected with Zika, there is between a 1 percent and 29 percent chance her baby will be born with microcephaly. The wide range reflects the lack of scientific knowledge on the subject.
There is no cure for Zika and health officials estimate that it will cost upward of $10 million for every child born with birth defects.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention convened a conference for doctors this week as part of an effort to come up with best practices for caring for children born with microcephaly and other Zika-related birth defects.
As with the virus itself, there are many questions about the best way to care for both the child and to counsel the family.
For instance, all the cases so far have involved children born with microcephaly, known as congenital microcephaly.
But officials do not know if a newborn who is infected with Zika at birth could develop microcephaly after birth, which is called acquired microcephaly. They also do not have a good understanding of other possible developmental problems that could be associated with Zika.
Even detecting microcephaly before birth is complicated.
During pregnancy, a baby’s head grows because the brain grows. Microcephaly can occur because a baby’s brain has not developed properly during pregnancy, or has stopped growing after birth.
However, the earliest that the condition has been detected in ultrasounds is in the mid-to-late second trimester and it is most commonly detected in the third trimester.
“The City has been preparing for this scenario for many months now, and we stand ready to help families caring for an infant with microcephaly,” Dr. Herminia Palacio, the deputy mayor for health and human services, said. “This case is a sad reminder that Zika can have tragic consequences for pregnant women.”