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November 30, 2015

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Brazil links zica virus with birth deformities

A LINK between a form of fetal brain damage and the mosquito-born zica virus has been confirmed by Brazilian health authorities.

The link between zica, first medically identified as a new disease half a century ago, and birth defects has never been made.

The virus, endemic in parts Africa, South America, Southeast Asia and some Pacific Islands, has until now been blamed for symptoms such as fever, mild headache, skin rashes, joint pain and conjunctivitis, or “red eye.”

Initial analysis shows that the virus can be passed to a fetus and that the fetus is at greatest risk from the virus during the first three months of pregnancy.

More tests and studies are needed to clarify the exact method of transmission and infection, the statement said.

A surge in recent months of babies born with microcephaly, or an unnaturally small brain, in Brazil’s northeast, led authorities to suspect the virus may have more sinister effects than previously recorded, the ministry said.

Microcephalic children can suffer developmental and intellectual difficulties that limit intelligence and muscle coordination for life.

The ministry’s conclusion was made after tests on the tissue of a deceased child with microcephalic symptoms by the Ivandro Chagas Institute in Brazil, one of South America’s leading health institutes.




 

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