During the week ending June 23, 2016, there were three infants born with birth defects and one pregnancy loss among U.S. women who had been infected with Zika virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The pregnancy-outcomes data, which were posted June 30, show that a total of seven infants have been born in the United States with Zika-related birth defects and that there have been five pregnancy losses with probable Zika-related birth defects, the CDC reported.
For that same week, there were reports of an additional 22 pregnant women with Zika virus infection in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, bringing the total to 287. Among U.S. territories – American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands – 34 more pregnant women were reported, bringing the territorial number up to 250 and giving the country a total of 537 cases, the CDC said. The CDC is not reporting state- or territorial-level data to protect the privacy of affected women and children.
The figures for states, territories, and the District of Columbia reflect reporting to the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry; data for Puerto Rico are reported to the U.S. Zika Active Pregnancy Surveillance System. These are not real-time data and reflect only pregnancy outcomes for women with any laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection, although it is not known if Zika virus was the cause of the poor outcomes.
Zika-related birth defects recorded by the CDC could include microcephaly, calcium deposits in the brain indicating possible brain damage, excess fluid in the brain cavities and surrounding the brain, absent or poorly formed brain structures, abnormal eye development, or other problems resulting from brain damage that affect nerves, muscles, and bones. The pregnancy losses encompass any miscarriage, stillbirth, and termination with evidence of birth defects.