A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Friday, June 9, 2017
Up to 1 in 20 babies born to mothers with Zika have birth defects, report says
- Risk jumped to nearly one in 13 when mothers had virus in first trimester
- Study comes as US prepares for mosquito season
The Zika virus is still spreading locally in some areas, including Puerto Rico. Photograph: Ricardo Moraes/Reuters
As many as one in 20 babies born to mothers infected by Zika have birth
defects, a new report from by US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention shows.
The risk jumped to nearly one in 13 when mothers were found to have Zika in the first trimester, the CDC stated.
The report on more than 2,500 pregnancies across five US territories
found 122 babies, or 5%, were born with birth defects from 1 January
2016 to 25 April 2017. It is the largest study of the impact of Zika in
America to date.
“The bottom line for women is Zika virus infection
diagnosed during any trimester can lead to severe birth defects,” said
Anne Schuchat, acting director of the CDC. “This is a very dangerous
virus in the context of the pregnancy setting.”
The report comes as Americans in Gulf Coast states and US territories prepare for a summer mosquito season with the virus still spreading locally in some areas, including Puerto Rico.
“We can’t predict exactly how much Zika will be spreading these next
several months, or in fact the next several years, but we know the
vector is there,” said Schuchat, referring to territories such as Puerto Rico.
In the same report, the CDC changed how it reports cases of birth defects related to Zika in the US territories. After a reported dispute
with Puerto Rico, the CDC will now release data all Zika-related birth
defects collectively among five US territories. Officials refused to say
how many birth defects were found in Puerto Rico specifically.
The US territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are heavily
dependent on tourism. Island officials blamed a major slump in the
industry on news of the Zika virus. The head of the Puerto Rico Tourism
Company, José Izquierdo II, told local news outlet Primera Hora that the island lost an estimated $254m in tourism in 2016.
Earlier this week, the territorial government of Puerto Rico declared
the Zika epidemic “ended”, after new infections dropped from 8,000 to 10
per week. The CDC is still warning women who are pregnant not to travel
to Puerto Rico.
A June report by Stat News indicated
38 cases of Zika-related birth defects on the island, despite known
infections among 3,300 women. The Guardian attempted to confirm this
number with the Puerto Rico department of health, but a spokesman said
he did not have a current count of the number of Zika-related birth
defects on the island.
By comparison, in the 50 states and Washington, 1,579 Zika-infected women gave birth to 72 children with defects.
“Zika hasn’t gone away and while the number of new cases has decreased
the virus remains a concern for pregnant women living in the US
territories,” said Shuchat. “We must continue preparing for another
mosquito season while researchers seek more definitive prevention
through vaccine development.”