Health

3 Babies Were Born With Zika in the U.S.

June 16th 2016

The Zika virus has made an appearance stateside.

mosquito-on-fingerFlickr/John Tann - flickr.com

Three babies were born with Zika virus-related birth defects in the U.S., according to federal health officials.

Zika also was linked to three more cases in which babies were either aborted or lost to miscarriages or stillbirths as a result of birth defects, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

zika-babyAP/Felipe Dana - apimages.com

The CDC said in a statement, according to NBC News.

"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 women in the U.S. with Zika contracted the virus while traveling, according to the CDC. But the agency also warns of localized Zika outbreaks in the states once mosquito season begins.

Here's where Zika mosquitoes live in the U.S.CDC/NPR - npr.org

So far, 234 pregnant women have been diagnosed with Zika in the U.S., and 189 more women (not counting the six Zika cases reported in the U.S. on Thursday) have been infected in U.S. territories, predominantly Puerto Rico, according to the CDC.

Dr. Denise Jamieson of the CDC said:

"Unfortunately I think it is not surprising. I think it is consistent with what we have seen in Brazil and Colombia. "Some, but not all, of the infants have had evidence of Zika virus infection."

There is still "no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat Zika virus," according to the the CDC.