The Florida Department of Health confirmed that a Haitian national who came to give birth in Florida, gave birth to a baby with microcephaly linked to Zika virus. The mother was infected by Zika virus in Haiti before she is allowed to travel to the United States.

Officials did not disclose the name of the hospital where the woman gave birth to her baby. However, the Department of Health has confirmed that there had been two other births before with microcephaly related to Zika in the United States, one in Hawaii and one in New Jersey.

It should be noted that this woman was infected, depending on the length of a normal pregnancy cycle, towards October 2015, while the Ministry of Health in Haiti has confirmed the first cases in Haiti only on January 14, 2016 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16333-haiti-flash-5-cases-officially-confirmed-of-zika-fever-in-haiti.html which means that for several months the mosquito vector of Zika virus was already present in Haiti without health authorities know that.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC) recommends that women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant postpone travel to Zika affected areas," indocated in a statement Tuesday the Department of Health of the United States.

According to CDC guidance, providers should consider testing all pregnant women with a history of travel to a Zika affected area for the virus. CDC also recommends that a pregnant woman with a history of Zika virus and her provider should consider additional ultrasounds.

Learn more about the microcephaly :

Microcephaly is an abnormal growth of the skull with a diameter of the head lower than normal. It may be congenital or appear in the first years of life. It is a serious disorder of neurodevelopment which generally results in a lower life expectancy and cognitive impairment. Microcephaly is among other one of the consequence of the Zika virus, which is not the only cause.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17563-haiti-health-the-haitian-red-cross-launches-the-anti-zika-operation.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16993-icihaiti-health-since-the-appearance-of-zika-1777-cases-reported.html

IH/ iciHaiti