Colombia Zika outbreak: microcephaly cases four times higher this year

Cases of microcephaly in Colombia were four times higher this year than last, an increase that coincides with a widespread outbreak of the Zika virus in the country, according to a report released on Friday.

At its peak in July, microcephaly cases in Colombia were nine times higher than in the same month in 2015, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly report on death and disease.

Overall, there were about 9.6 cases of microcephaly per 10,000 live births in Colombia, where the virus infected as many as 20,000 pregnant women since the start of the outbreak there in October 2015.

The numbers reflect a sharp increase in rates of the rare birth defect, but the number of cases was still far lower than those in Brazil, where Zika first arrived in May 2015. As of 3 December, Brazil has confirmed 2,228 cases of microcephaly linked with Zika, and there are 3,173 cases still under investigation.

Those numbers are far higher than the 432 cases of babies born in Colombia with microcephaly in 2016, and another 44 that occurred among fetuses that did not survive the pregnancy, according to the report by researchers at the CDC and the Colombian health department.

The study’s authors said the difference could have resulted from a number of factors, including the fact that women in Colombia had early warning about the risk of microcephaly.

In February, the Colombian ministry of health advised women to consider delaying pregnancy for six months, which may have played a role. During the study period, the number of live births fell by about 18,000 from 2015 to 2016.

Several experts also have suggested that women in Colombia took advantage of more permissive abortion laws, an option that was not available to women in Brazil, where abortion is banned in most instances.

Colombia Zika outbreak: microcephaly cases four times higher this year

First case in Europe of baby born with Zika-related microcephaly

A woman in Spain infected with the Zika virus has given birth to a baby with the brain-damaging disorder microcephaly, her hospital said on Monday, the first case of its kind in Europe.

Related: Zika epidemic has peaked and may run its course within 18 months, say experts

The mother, who has not been identified, caught the virus on a trip abroad but authorities have declined to say where. A hospital source said she was infected in Latin America, where the virus is widespread.

“The baby did not require any resuscitation,” Felix Castillo, neonatal chief at the Vall d’Hebron hospital in Barcelona, told a press conference, adding that the infant’s vital signs were “normal and stable”. The baby’s gender has not been revealed for privacy reasons.

The newborn’s health is being constantly monitored and initial tests confirm that “its head circumference is smaller than normal and that it has microcephaly,” Castillo added. The baby was born by caesarean section after 40 weeks of pregnancy.

“The mother is doing well,” said Elena Carreras, head of obstetrics at the hospital, adding that both parents were very excited about the birth.

Authorities announced in May that they had detected microcephaly in the foetus but the couple decided to keep the baby. Doctors refused to give any further information about the mother or child.

A woman in Slovenia who was pregnant with a baby with microcephaly was previously found to have been carrying the virus but she decided to have an abortion.

Zika virus: what you need to know

Researchers said Monday that tens of thousands of babies may be born with debilitating Zika-related disorders in the course of the outbreak, which is sweeping through Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mathematical projections suggest about 93.4 million people may catch the virus – including around 1.65 million pregnant women – before the epidemic fizzles out, a team reported in the journal Nature Microbiology.

First case in Europe of baby born with Zika-related microcephaly

First case of baby born with Zika-related microcephaly reported in New York City

New York City has reported its first case of a baby born with the birth defect microcephaly related to exposure to the Zika virus, health officials said on Friday.

New York City department of health officials said the baby’s mother was infected after traveling to an area with ongoing Zika transmission. They declined to provide further details about the mother or child.

So far, the city has reported 346 cases of Zika infections, all related to travel. Of these, four have been linked to sexual transmission, including the first case ever of a woman transmitting the virus to a male partner.

US health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have now been 12 confirmed cases of babies born with microcephaly in the United States, and more than 400 pregnant woman in the continental US have evidence of Zika infection.

Health officials in Florida have been working with the CDC to determine if Zika has arrived in the United States after two residents who have not traveled to areas infected with Zika tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus.

It was also announced on Friday that a civilian contract worker has become the first person with a confirmed case of Zika on the US base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, following a trip to Jamaica.

Related: Zika transmission to Utah man’s caregiver sparks medical mystery

The worker became infected while off the base and remains under medical supervision but now shows no symptoms of the illness, the US navy said in a statement.

The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,600 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers.

So far, 1,404 people in 46 US states have contracted Zika, including 15 cases that were sexually acquired. CDC is also investigating one possible case of person-to-person transmission of Zika in Utah.

First case of baby born with Zika-related microcephaly reported in New York City