1 in 7 kids of ‘Zika moms’ have health trouble: study
Print Edition
One out of every seven babies born to US mothers who were infected with Zika during pregnancy developed some kind of health problem, according to the first long-term look at those children.
The study released last week focused on the children of women in Puerto Rico and other territories, where most of the US cases were seen when the disease swept across the Americas more than two years ago.
Most people infected with Zika don’t get sick. In others, it can cause a mild illness, with fever, rash and joint pain. But infection during pregnancy can lead to severe brain-related birth defects.
Earlier studies focused on those birth defects. The new research is unique that it’s a large study looked for conditions that became apparent only later, said Margaret Honein of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of the authors.
The researchers looked at 1,450 kids who were at least 1 year old and whose mothers were infected with Zika while pregnant.
Most were in Puerto Rico, but the count included American Samoa, the Marshall Islands, the US Virgin Islands and Micronesia.
Six percent had birth defects, such as abnormally small heads, damaged brains or eye irregularities. That’s about 30 times the general rate.
The percentage rose to 14 when the researchers also counted later-developing problems possibly caused by Zika, including seizures, developmental delays and difficulty swallowing or moving.
Researchers also found that not enough kids were being checked. For example, only about a third received recommended eye exams by a specialist, half got a hearing evaluation, and less than two-thirds got brain scans.
Medical services have been disrupted at times in hurricane-battered Puerto Rico. Still, it means kids who need therapy or treatment may not be getting it.
Most Zika infections are spread through the bites of infected mosquitoes, but it can also be spread through sex or blood transfusion.
The CDC had advised couples planning to conceive to abstain from sex or to use condoms for at least six months after a male partner comes down with Zika.
Last week, that was revised to changed the recommendation to three months.
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