A study looks at the rate of miscarriage — and of babies born with the birth defect — among a group of pregnant women in Brazil. Researchers were surprised by what they found.
For decades, Zika had been relatively innocuous. In 2015, that changed. A new study unravels the mystery of what caused thousands of cases of microcephaly.
About 5 percent of pregnant women infected with Zika in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories last year had babies with birth defects, says the federal health agency. And the risk isn't over.
Cytomegalovirus is everywhere, and it usually doesn't make people sick. But if a woman gets infected while pregnant, in rare cases it can cause serious problems for the baby.
But they'll have to wait a while. The portion of the $394 million Congress allocated to help pregnant women find out more quickly if they have Zika isn't expected to get to strained labs until 2017.
For some obstetricians and gynecologists, Zika virus is transforming how they practice medicine. Talks with pregnant patients now include testing for the virus and the risks of long-term effects.
Federal health officials are cautioning pregnant travelers to avoid a Miami neighborhood where at least 14 cases of Zika have been traced to local mosquitoes. What about the rest of Florida?
Scientists tracked nearly 600 pregnant women in Colombia, who were reportedly infected with Zika during their third trimester. None of these women gave birth to a baby with apparent problems.
U.S. health officials say they are now convinced that Zika virus can target the developing brain before birth, leading to a severe type of microcephaly and other brain abnormalities.
The "new microcephaly." That's what doctors in Brazil are calling the birth defect believed to be caused by the Zika virus because it seems much worse than cases that have occurred for other reasons.
A study of pregnant women in Rio de Janeiro lends credence to a suspected link between Zika and microcephaly and suggests the virus could cause other complications, including stillbirth.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito is an old foe, spreading yellow fever and dengue on the islands long before Zika gained a foothold. How do you stop an insect that can breed in a teaspoonful of stale water?
So far, the U.S. territory has reported 117 Zika cases, including five pregnant women. But health officials say the real test will come when April and May rains bring more mosquitoes.
There's no vaccine yet, but Zika researchers are racing to find a good candidate. After testing it in animals, checking for effectiveness in humans might include injecting Zika into healthy people.
Researchers say Colombia offers a chance to learn more about Zika's possible link to microcephaly. If the country sees a sudden rise in cases as Brazil did, that's stronger evidence of a connection.
U.S. health officials say they have confirmed the two women had Zika. And their only risk factor was having slept with male partners who had recently traveled to places with active virus transmission.
U.S. disease detectives are launching a research project that health authorities hope will produce the most definitive evidence yet about whether the virus is really causing birth defects.
There have been several cases of abandoned babies already — at least three in Rio. And a psychologist believes that some men will walk out on their partner if a newborn has the birth defect.
