On Tuesday, a baby girl was born in a New Jersey hospital with severe Zika-related microcephaly, according to The New York Times. The mother is 31 years old and reportedly contracted the virus in her home country of Honduras.
Manny Alvarez, MD, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Hackensack (N.J) University Medical Center, told the Times the mother knew she had the virus before coming to the U.S. to visit relatives. Physicians at the Donna A. Sanzari Women's Hospital in Hackensack opted to deliver the baby via caesarean section after scans revealed the infant was underweight for her gestational age.
According to ABC News, this is the first infant born in the continental U.S. with Zika-related microcephaly — a baby was born in Hawaii in January with microcephaly related to the virus. Microcephaly is a neurologically debilitating birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads. The infant is also suffering from intestine and vision issues.
Regarding the birth, Dr. Alvarez told the Times, "It tells you that Zika is real...there is still a lot of work to be done insofar as controlling the virus."
Find out where Zika has been reported in the U.S. as of May 27 here.
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Many Americans unaware of how Zika spreads and 6 other survey findings
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House speaker calls for relaxed EPA regulations to combat Zika-carrying mosquitoes