Baby born with microcephaly born to U.S. mom with Zika
(FOX 13) - Today the CDC released information about nine pregnant travelers, now in the U.S., with confirmed cases of Zika virus.
As of February 17, two of the women had early miscarriages, two had elective terminations, two were still pregnant: one 18 weeks, the other 34 weeks - both are continuing without any known complications - and there have been three births.
Two of the births appear healthy, but one has microcephaly - the birth defect thought to be associated with Zika virus infections.
The fetus from one of the terminations, which occurred around 20 weeks, was missing portions of it's brain, and the remaining sections had severe abnormalities.
The CDC said it continues to investigate 10 more cases.
Additionally, three sexually transmitted Zika cases in the U.S. were spread from the male to the female partner after the men returned from trips to affected countries.
The men all reported experiencing some symptoms including fever, rash, pink eye, muscle or joint pain. Since the couples were not living in an area where the Aedes aegypti mosquito is present.
Because the couples were not living in locations where Zika is known to be spread by mosquitos, it's presumed the virus was spread through unprotected sex.
The state of Florida reported Thursday, three cases of pregnant travelers in Florida. It said all three women were not symptomatic when they arrived in Florida and all showed signs of a remote Zika infection based on blood tests.
Friday, the statewide count - including all travelers - male and female - was up to 37.
Public health emergencies have been declared in eleven counties: Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Hillsborough, Lee, Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola, Santa Rosa, Seminole and St. Johns - all where cases have been identified.
So far, Miami-Dade has 14 cases, the most in one Florida county.
The state continues to encourage current Florida residents or visitors, or people planning to travel to Florida in the near future, to call the hotline with questions about exposure to Zika. The state said it has taken more than 750 already.
The Department of Health encourages Florida residents and visitors to protect themselves from all mosquito-borne illnesses by draining standing water, covering their skin with repellent and clothing and covering windows with screens.