2 women abort pregnancies due to Zika infection, CDC says

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CDC is working with other public health officials to monitor Zika virus transmission and potential links between Zika virus infection during pregnancy and birth defects.

A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that the Zika virus can cause a devastating birth defect called microcephaly, a condition that causes a baby to be born with an abnormally small head and brain damage.

The CDC said it was investigating 10 other reports of the Zika virus among pregnant women.

Of two women who experienced Zika symptoms in their second trimester, one delivered a healthy child at 40 weeks and one is still pregnant.

Pregnant women who have traveled to the Zika zone can and should be tested between two and twelve weeks of retuning to the U-S.

The Centers for Disease Control, reports that the most common symptoms of Zika infection are fever, rash, joint pain and red, itchy eyes. Pregnant women and their partners should also be aware of the risk for Zika virus infection through unprotected sex with an infected male partner, and carefully follow CDC interim guidelines for preventing sexual transmission of Zika virus infection.

On Thursday, a woman contracted Zika just two miles from Olympic Park in Rio. Two women had miscarriages, although it is not known if the cause was the virus.

As the number of Zika cases go up around the United States, Maryland has also seen a spike. The mosquito-borne virus has been linked to the development of several pregnancy complications and birth defect development in babies. However, the CDC advises that men who live in or have recently traveled from a Zika-endemic area should abstain from sex or use a condom with a pregnant or non-pregnant partner.

"No one is more impatient than we are to get answers to these questions", Frieden said.

"We are thinking that the virus could have been transmitted sexually", Cordoba health chief Francisco Fortuna told Radio Continental, adding that the patient had contact with a man who recently traveled to Colombia.

Pregnant women should try to postpone travel to the regions, said Dr. Richard Leman of the Oregon Health Authority.

Women who are trying to become pregnant should talk to their doctors before making the trip, the CDC advised.

While local transmission of Zika virus has not occurred, officials warned that the mosquito that can transmit it has been found in the San Gabriel Valley and in the eastern part of Los Angeles County.

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