A Woman Gives Birth to a Girl with Zika Virus at a New Jersey Hospital

On Tuesday, May 31, a woman from Honduras gave birth to a baby girl infected with Zika virus – the mosquito-borne disease that can cause small heads and brain damage in newborns.

Earlier, the mother was admitted to the emergency room at Hackensack University Medical Center, New Jersey, where she gave birth to the girl.

Zika virus disease, simply known as Zika, is caused by Zika virus, which spreads in public through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. This virus, named after Zika forest in Uganda, was first discovered in 1947. The first case of a human infected with Zika virus was detected in 1952, and since then, Zika outbreaks have been reported in Southeast Asia, tropical Africa, and the Pacific Islands. The common symptoms of the disease include rash, fever, joint pain, and conjunctivitis, which may last for several days to a week. People usually don’t feel the need to be hospitalized and only a few deaths due to Zika virus have been reported. However, the infection of this virus during pregnancy can cause microcephaly and other brain defects in newborns.

According to Manny Alvarez, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Hackensack University Medical Center, said that the mother of the newborn most likely contracted the virus in Honduras, her home country. She was aware of the fact that she is infected with the virus before coming to New Jersey.

Dr Alvarez said the scans showed that the baby girl was underweight for her gestational age, and therefore doctors decided to C-section to deliver the baby to avoid the risk of further exposure to the virus. The newborn has an unusually small head (microcephaly) – a characteristic of the virus. She is also having some intestinal and visual issues.

According to Dr Alvarez, this is the first case of a baby born with Zika in the Northeast.

The first case of brain damage in a newborn linked to the Zika virus in the United States was reported in January.

“It tells you that Zika is real,” Dr. Alvarez said. “There is still a lot of work to be done insofar as controlling this virus.”

The hospital in a statement revealed that the mother is receiving “exceptional care” and “we would appreciate everyone respecting the mother’s privacy.”