The outcomes of nine pregnancies of women with Zika virus being monitored in the U.S. are doing little to help demystify the potential connection between the infection and the birth defect microcephaly, according to The New York Times.
Of the nine pregnancies, one baby was born with microcephaly, two of the women had abortions, two miscarried, two had healthy babies and two have not yet delivered, according to the CDC. Last month, a Hawaiian baby was reported the first to be born in the U.S. with microcephaly linked to Zika virus, however in its report the CDC did not confirm whether the microcephalic baby was the same Hawaiian infant. All of the women recently traveled to territories with known outbreaks of Zika, according to The Times.
Both of the miscarriages occurred at relatively common points in the pregnancy, making it difficult to discern a viral link.
"The link between microcephaly and Zika was clarified weeks ago, and we should no longer be asking 'if," Peter Hotez, MD, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told The Times. "The U.S. obstetrics community needs to prepare accordingly."
The CDC is actively investigating 10 additional pregnancies in which the mother has tested positive for Zika virus. Thus far, of 147 total cases of infection across 24 states, 107 were acquired outside of the country, according to CDC director Tom Frieden, MD.