No New Cases Of Zika Reported This Week, D.O.H. Data Reveals

Following last week’s news that a mother with Zika had given birth to a baby with microcephaly — the first recorded case in the U.S. Virgin Islands — this week saw no new cases in the territory in both the regular and pregnant women categories, according to D.O.H.’s latest report.

Pregnant women cases stayed steady at 232 confirmed cases, so too did regular confirmed Zika cases in St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John, with each island’s numbers remaining flat at 686, 251 and 89 cases respectively.

The Department of Health did not give an update on the baby’s condition.

Microcephaly is a condition where a baby’s head is much smaller than expected. During pregnancy, a baby’s head grows because the baby’s brain grows. Microcephaly can occur because a baby’s brain has not developed properly during pregnancy or has stopped growing after birth, which results in a smaller head size. Microcephaly can be an isolated condition, meaning that it can occur with no other major birth defects, or it can occur in combination with other major birth defects.

Babies with microcephaly can have a range of other problems, depending on how severe their microcephaly is. Microcephaly has been linked with the following problems:

• Seizures
• Developmental delay, such as problems with speech or other developmental milestones (like sitting, standing, and walking)
• Intellectual disability (decreased ability to learn and function in daily life)
• Problems with movement and balance
• Feeding problems, such as difficulty swallowing
• Hearing loss
• Vision problems

Zika is spread primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito. People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. For this reason, many people might not realize they have been infected or may be infected and have no symptoms. Zika can also be spread sexually.