Two pregnant women infected with the Zika virus have chosen to have abortions to avoid any adverse effects on their fetuses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.
In total, nine pregnant women in the U.S. have been confirmed with Zika and another 10 cases are being investigated, the agency announced in an update on how the virus is spreading to Americans. Of the nine women, two lost their pregnancy, two actively terminated them and three gave birth. Two others are continuing with their pregnancies.
Of the three babies born, two have been reported healthy and one has been diagnosed with severe microcephaly, one of the most serious health problems thought to be caused by the virus.
The women had traveled to American Samoa, Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Samoa.
As of Friday, a total of 147 cases of patients with Zika in 24 states and the District of Columbia had been reported, the CDC said. The majority of cases, 107 cases, were acquired by people who had traveled to Zika-affected countries while the remaining 40 cases were mostly locally-acquired infections in U.S. territories, officials said.
The virus, which is thought to be linked to both microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome, mainly travels through a specific type of mosquito that is hard to get rid of but is also known to spread through sexual contact.
Officials said Friday that a total of six non-traveling women in the U.S. are believed to have contracted Zika through sexual contact with a male partner who had traveled to a Zika-affected country. Six other cases of suspected sexual transmission of Zika are being investigated.
Zika has mainly affected central and south American countries so far, but cases in the U.S. have been multiplying over the last six weeks. President Obama has asked Congress for $1.9 billion in emergency funding to combat the virus.
Officials have said a vaccine for the virus is still years away from being developed, but CDC Director Tom Frieden said Friday that a new laboratory test for the virus has been approved and is being distributed to labs around the country. The biggest concern, he said, is to ensure pregnant women aren’t infected by the virus in order to protect their fetuses from the life-threatening condition of microcephaly.
The CDC has warned pregnant women to avoid traveling to countries with active transmission of the virus and to use a condom if they have sexual intercourse with a male partner who traveled to such a country. A third way to prevent the risks to pregnant women is to kill off the type of mosquitos that spread Zika, Frieden said. But that is the most difficult preventative step, he warned.
“This particular mosquito has been referred to as the cockroach of mosquitos,” Frieden said. “It lives in dark places and it’s hard to get rid of.”
