Infected by the Zika virus in South America, a Spanish woman has just given birth to a baby with microcephaly. This is the first birth of a child suffering from this defect in Europe.
A woman has just given birth to a child with microcephaly in Barcelona, according to health authorities in Catalonia (Spain). This is the first time that Europe has faced this birth defect.
This case of microcephaly was diagnosed last May. The mother infected with the Zika virus and dengue fever during a trip to South America had decided to carry her pregnancy to term. In Europe, another fetus with this neurological abnormality had been detected in Slovenia, but the parents had opted for a voluntary termination of pregnancy.
Across the Atlantic, a first case of microcephaly in New Yok was reported last week. Again, it would be a pregnant woman infected with the Zika virus during a trip to one of the 60 countries and territories affected by the epidemic. New York health officials said the case should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks the Zika virus is a theoretical threat.
Have protected sex or abstain
In fact, a study published on Monday in the journal Nature Microbiology suggests that 1.65 million pregnant women are exposed to the Zika virus, only in Central and South America. Brazil, the epicenter of this epidemic, would be massively affected, according to these projections.
These estimates could also be underestimated because 80% of Zika virus infections go unnoticed. The risk of transmitting the virus during sexual intercourse is therefore very high, and represents a real danger for thousands of unborn babies.
This is why, as a precautionary measure, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the sexual partners of pregnant women living or returning from areas of circulation of the virus to abstain throughout the pregnancy. As for travelers returning from Zika virus circulation areas, the WHO “strongly” advises couples or women who wish to have a child to wait at least 8 weeks before trying to conceive. If the man has symptoms, abstinence or the use of condoms should last at least 6 months.
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