There was one infant born with birth defects and two pregnancy losses as a result of likely maternal Zika virus infection among U.S. women during the week ending June 16, 2016, according to figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That brings the Zika-related totals to four infants born with birth defects and five pregnancy losses in the United States, with one of the most recent pregnancy losses occurring in a U.S. territory or Puerto Rico, the CDC reported. The CDC is not reporting state- or territorial-level data to protect the privacy of affected women and children.
The CDC also said that it has received reports of 265 pregnant women in U.S. states and the District of Columbia and 216 pregnant women in U.S. territories and Puerto Rico who had any laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection. This includes women “in whom viral particles have been detected and those with evidence of an immune reaction to a recent virus that is likely to be Zika,” the CDC noted.
The figures for states, territories, and the District of Columbia reflect reporting to the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry ; data for Puerto Rico are reported to the U.S. Zika Active Pregnancy Surveillance System. These are not real-time data and reflect only pregnancy outcomes for women with any laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection, although it is not known if Zika virus was the cause of the poor outcomes. The numbers also do not reflect outcomes among ongoing pregnancies.
Zika-related birth defects recorded by the CDC could include 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 brain damage that affect nerves, muscles, and bones. The pregnancy losses encompass any miscarriage, stillbirth, and termination with evidence of birth defects.
CDC officials plan to update the pregnancy outcome data every Thursday at www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/pregnancy-outcomes.html .
