CDC: Zika-Infected Babies May Not Show Symptoms For Months

Not all infants born after exposure to Zika have developmental problems, and researchers said the current study sheds no light on how common the delayed onset of microcephaly might be. The organization will create a technical committee to deal with Zika research, vaccine development and other efforts going forward.

Out of the total cases, 35 people believed to acquire the virus through sexual transmission.

The babies were monitored regularly to watch the progression of the neurological issues. All had laboratory evidence of congenital Zika virus infection but they had only slightly smaller than normal head size at birth.

The CDC now recommends monitoring babies born to Zika-infected women after birth, but the agency is looking at whether additional imaging should be recommended, said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden.

Babies born looking normal and healthy after a Zika infection are developing smaller-than-normal heads months later, doctors reported Tuesday – a bad sign that shows the virus continues to damage a baby for weeks or months.

An Emergency Committee of the WHO which met weekend, said although the mosquito-borne virus is still a chronic problem and huge resources are required to fight its spread in a long-term manner, it no longer represents an emergency defined under the International Health Regulations (IHR).

The virus, which is primarily transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, can be passed from a pregnant women to her fetus and cause a host of grave birth defects beyond microcephaly.

The top research priorities are, for example, detailing the natural history of the disease, identifying possible cofactors for infection, assessing birth defect risks from various Zika lineages, and vector control, Salama said.

“We have also noticed a difference between these syndromes, even though the trigger was the same”, said Casagrande, who is in the radiology department at Antonio Pedro University Hospital of Federal Fluminense University in Niteroi, Brazil.

However, both Argentina and Guadeloupe saw new cases of microcephaly and other central nervous system (CNS) malformations potentially associated with Zika virus infection for the first time in the week before the report was published.

The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light previous year in Brazil, which has since confirmed more than 2,100 cases of microcephaly.