Health agencies say the Zika virus is probably linked to a birth defect called microcephaly, but a new study found it might be linked to stillbirths and other birth defects as well.
A case study of a 20-year-old pregnant woman from Brazil, where the mosquito-borne virus is raging, was published Thursday in the journal Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases.
The woman’s fetus developed a condition called hydrops fetalis, a condition in which there is an abnormal amount of fluid in the fetus, the study said. The baby also had the birth defect microcephaly, which causes a baby to be born with a smaller head, and hydranencephaly, a condition in which certain parts of the brain are absent and filled with fluid.
The researchers found traces of Zika in the central nervous system tissue and amniotic fluid, the study said.
“Given the recent spread of the virus, systematic investigation of spontaneous abortions and stillbirths may be warranted to evaluate the risk that ZIKV infection imparts on these outcomes,” the study noted.
Health agencies strongly suspect that Zika is linked to microcephaly and the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
The U.S. has urged pregnant women and women of child-bearing age to avoid travel to more than 30 areas and countries where Zika is spreading.
The number of U.S. cases is growing, with federal officials saying the new number is 155. So far there are no reports of the virus spreading via mosquitoes in the U.S., but 14 cases of sexual transmission are being investigated.
