California Confirms 2 Babies Born With Zika-Linked Microcephaly
“This is a sobering reminder for Californians that Zika can cause serious harm to a developing fetus,” says Dr. Karen Smith, director of the California Department of Public Health.
Los Angeles Times:
Two Babies In California Born With Microcephaly From Zika, Officials Say
Two babies in California were born with microcephaly after their mothers were infected with Zika virus, state health officials said Thursday. The mothers had traveled to countries with outbreaks of the illness before becoming infected. Officials would not release any more information about the women or the babies. “This is a sobering reminder for Californians that Zika can cause serious harm to a developing fetus,” said Dr. Karen Smith, director of the California Department of Public Health. (Karlamangla, 8/4)
KQED's State of Health:
2 California Babies Born With Zika-Related Defects
Two babies have been born with Zika-related birth defects in California to mothers who were infected in other countries, health officials said Thursday. The newborns survived. One of the mothers returned to her home country with her baby while the other remains in the state, according to the California Department of Public Health. (8/4)
San Francisco Chronicle:
2 Cases Of Zika-Related Birth Defects Reported In California
California public health officials reported Thursday the state’s first two cases of microcephaly in babies born to women who had contracted the Zika virus during pregnancy.One of the mothers has returned to her home country since giving birth, state officials said. They declined to say when either infant was born, or in what county in California. (Allday, 8/4)
Fresno Bee:
Two Babies Born In California With Zika-Related Microcephaly
Two babies have been born with Zika-related microcephaly to mothers in California who had spent time in countries that are infested with the mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus, state Department of Public Health officials said Thursday.To protect privacy, the state did not release the locations of the mothers and babies affected by the virus. Infants born with birth defects as a result of maternal Zika infection do not pose a public health risk to others. (8/4)
KPCC:
2 Infants Born In Calif. With Zika-Related Birth Defects
Two infants have been born in California with Zika-related microcephaly, the state Department of Public Health reported Thursday. In both cases, the mothers contracted the virus while pregnant, after spending time in a country where Zika is spreading. Department of Public Health Director Dr. Karen Smith emphasized that infants born with birth defects as a result of maternal Zika infection don't pose a risk to public health. (Plevin, 8/4)
LA Daily News:
Two California Babies Born With Zika-Related Birth Defects Are First In State, Officials Say
Two babies in California are the first in the state to be born with Zika-related microcephaly, a birth defect that scientists recently linked to the mosquito-borne virus, state health officials announced Thursday.The two women who gave birth to the infants were infected by the Zika virus during pregnancy after spending time in a country where the virus is endemic, said Dr. Karen Smith, state director for the California Department of Public Health. One woman has returned to her homeland, Smith said. (Abram, 8/4)
And in other Zika news —
Politico:
Obama Blasts Congress Over Zika Funding
President Barack Obama on Thursday blasted Congress for skipping town for August recess without approving emergency funding for Zika response amid a local outbreak in a Miami neighborhood. The president said the news of 15 locally acquired cases of Zika in South Florida was both “predicted and predictable” and blamed members of Congress for not approving the administration’s request of $1.9 billion to fight the mosquito-borne virus. (Ehley, 8/4)
Los Angeles Times:
Three Vaccines Prevent Zika Infection In Monkeys; Vaccine Trial In Humans Gets Underway
The vaccines assessed by researchers from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Harvard Medical School and elsewhere use three different methods to generate an immune response in patients. The first of them used a purified and inactivated version of the virus, which was too disabled to cause an infection but still caused the monkeys’ immune systems to make antibodies capable of fighting Zika. When deliberately exposed to the virus, none of the eight monkeys that received two doses of the vaccine showed any sign of infection. However, the eight monkeys that got the placebo became sick for about a week. (Kaplan, 8/4)
The Wall Street Journal:
Blood Banks Step Up Efforts Against Zika Contamination
As concerns rise about the spread of Zika in the U.S., regulators and blood banks are moving to protect the safety of the blood supply. To guard against accidental transmission of the mosquito-borne virus through blood transfusions, the Food and Drug Administration on July 27 told banks in Florida’s Miami-Dade and Broward counties—where officials are investigating the first cases in the continental U.S. of local transmission of the virus—to stop collecting blood until they can screen each donation for Zika. (Beck, 8/4)