Thailand health officials are investigating four possible cases of Zika-linked microcephaly in three babies and a 36-week old unborn child. If diagnosed, these would be the first confirmed cases of Zika-related microcephaly in Southeast Asia, reported Reuters.
Two of the mothers were diagnosed with Zika during pregnancy, but the other two were not confirmed to have the virus, according to Apichai Mongkol, director general of the Thailand ministry's department of medical sciences.
"The lab results will take at least two days because we have to be thorough with this as it is a big deal and a link hasn't been detected before," Thailand's Public Health Minister Piyasakon Sakolsatayadorn told Reuters.
The link between microcephaly and the Zika virus was found last year in Brazil, which has confirmed more than 1,600 cases of Zika-related microcephaly.
Thailand is one of the countries in Southeast Asia hardest hit by the Zika virus, with 349 confirmed cases since January, 25 of which involved pregnant women.
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