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Babies birthed by mothers with Zika are “safe and healthy”

By on August 25, 2016

The Secretary of the Health Department, Dr. Ana Riús, confirmed yesterday that all babies birthed by mothers infected with the Zika virus during one of the gestation stages have been born healthy to date.

“I’ve had to clarify this every day, because the 128 kids born to mothers with Zika are safe and healthy,” said Riús. She explained that the State’s health policy is to keep those babies under a vigilance program to evaluate their development for up to five years.

The mosquito Aedes Aegypti is the main transmitter of the Zika virus, although there have also been reports of contagion through sexual intercourse. (AP / Andre Penner)

The mosquito Aedes Aegypti is the main transmitter of the Zika virus, although there have also been reports of contagion through sexual intercourse. (AP / Andre Penner)

The warnings issued by the State to pregnant women to avoid bites from the mosquito Aedes Aegypti, transmitter of the Zika virus, about the effects the virus may have on fetuses have varied in recent months. At the start of the epidemic special attention was brought regarding the risk of microcephaly in babies of women infected with Zika; however, the Health Department has stopped emphasizing this warning and is now focusing on neurological conditions such as blindness, deafness, decrease in development and intellectual disability, among others.

According to the weekly report of registered cases published las week, to this date there have been a total 13,186 cases of people infected with the Zika virus, 1,106 of whom are pregnant women. From that pregnancy total, 182 have given birth and all babies have been born in healthy conditions.

Nonetheless, Riús explained previously that the vigilance program for babies birthed by Zika victims withstands because there still lies the possibility that they may eventually develop neurological problems–as consequence of the virus–up to five months after being born.

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