Zika infection late in pregnancy may be not so risky
No apparent birth defects reported in study of Colombian women infected in third trimester
By Meghan Rosen
Early results from Zika cases tracked in Colombia suggest that the viral infection late in pregnancy is not linked to microcephaly, a birth defect that leaves infants with abnormally small heads and brains.
In a group of 1,850 pregnant women reportedly infected with the virus during the third trimester, more than 90 percent have given birth to babies without “apparent abnormalities,” researchers report online June 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The finding offers the barest glimmer of hope in the ongoing Zika crisis. Since 2015, the mosquito-borne virus has spread to 46 countries and left more than 1,500 babies with severe birth defects, including microcephaly and other malformations.