El Salvador confirms its first case of birth defect due to Zika

The connection between Zika and microcephaly was first found in Brazil which has reported 1400 such cases so far. (Source: Reuters file photo)

Health officials in El Salvador have confirmed the first case of a severe birth defect associated with the Zika virus.

Public Health Minister Violeta Menjivar said on Tuesday that the baby boy with microcephaly was born recently to a 20-year-old mother.

“Year-to-date 48 cases of microcephaly have been reported, of which one has been determined to be due to Zika,” he told reporters.

El Salvador confirmed the presence of the Zika virus in December 2015. The government had identified 278 pregnant women suspected of having the virus. Of those, 118 have already given birth to babies without microcephaly.

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Babies with microcephaly have abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.

US health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. The World Health Organization has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can also cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults.

The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers.

(With inputs from AP and Reuters)

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