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Baby born on Oahu is 1st U.S. birth with Zika virus, defect

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  • This 2006 photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from a human host.

Health officials say a baby born in an Oahu hospital is the first in the United States born with Zika virus.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday it’s also the first infant born in the country with microcephaly associated with Zika virus. It’s a birth defect where a baby’s head is smaller than expected. Babies with the condition often have smaller brains that might not have developed properly.

The state Department of Health announced Friday that the baby was born recently in an Oahu hospital. The mother likely had the mosquito-borne virus while living in Brazil and her newborn acquired the infection in the womb.

Neither the baby nor the mother is infectious. Officials say there’s no risk of transmission in Hawaii.

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  • Brazil is in south America. Costa Rica is in central America. Mexico and the Caribbean have this. Should weaponize virus and use it on our enemies. Better than the drone. Leaves no trace or property damage.

    • This Zika virus is not fatal, however it is a birth defect with babies born with smaller heads. There is no cure or vaccine for this virus. Presently, women in the areas with this disease are being advised to not get pregnant. That is only measure they can do at this time. I have seen the photos of those babies and it is a very sad sight to see. Presently, the most northern areas of this disease is 150 miles from Texas. Soon, it will be in the US. The state of Hawaii health department needs to be heads up with this virus and take all measures to keep it away from Hawaii.

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