New Report and Resources on Babies with Zika Virus in the US Territories
On August 7, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the largest report to-date on health outcomes in US babies affected by the Zika virus. The report is about babies born in the US territories to mothers who had laboratory evidence of confirmed or possible Zika virus infection during pregnancy, and describes the health outcomes and follow-up care of babies who were at least one year of age. The CDC reports that about 1 in 7 (or 14%) of these 1,450 babies had one or more health problems possibly caused by Zika reported to the U.S. Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registry. Some of these problems were not apparent at birth and were identified as the babies grew older. For more information, see:
- Vital Signs overview of information about Zika babies in US territories
- Vital Signs report on Zika babies in US territories
- Vital Signs fact sheet on Zika babies in US territories
“Town hall” conference call: On Tuesday, August 14, at 2:00 pm ET
CDC will hold a Vital Signs Town Hall – Zika in Babies: Opportunities for Monitoring Health and Development. Call in at (U.S. only): 1-800-857-0764; passcode: 795-4413.
More information:
- Information about the current spread of Zika can be found at cdc.gov/Zika.
- Resources to help clinicians with follow-up care for babies born to mothers who had Zika during pregnancy.
- Prevent Zika during pregnancy. Pregnant women should not travel to areas with risk of Zika (i.e., with documented or likely Zika virus transmission). Everyone can take steps to prevent mosquito bites and prevent passing Zika through sex.
To stay posted, you can follow @CDCgov and @CDC_NCBDDD on Twitter, @CDCgov on Instagram, and like CDC on Facebook.