- CDC released a report confirming that Zika virus causes birth defects on unborn babies
- These defects include microcephaly and other serious brain anomalies
- The CDC scientists, however, cautioned there are still many unanswered questions
The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially confirmed on Wednesday, April 13, that Zika virus causes birth defects such as microcephaly and other brain-related problems on unborn babies.
For the past several months, Zika virus is being linked to prenatal infections on women that often resulted to adverse pregnancy and other serious brain anomalies; most notably the abnormally-small head sizes and underdeveloped brains.
But scientists and health experts around the world, including those from CDC, were cautious in concluding that this virus which is being spread by Aedes mosquitos is the culprit behind the rare brain disease and head deformities on children.
They said more research is needed before they can conclusively determine that the relationship between the Zika virus and microcephaly and other brain defects on babies is ‘causal’.
CDC report
Following the intensive review of evidence, scientists at CDC released a report acknowledging the link of Zika virus to microcephaly and other fetal malformations.
The study include evaluation of available data using criteria that have been proposed for the assessment of potential teratogens.
“On the basis of this review, we conclude that a causal relationship exists between prenatal Zika virus infection and microcephaly and other serious brain anomalies,” said the report published on The New England Journal of Medicine.
It added: “Evidence that was used to support this causal relationship included Zika virus infection at times during prenatal development that were consistent with the defects observed; a specific, rare phenotype involving microcephaly and associated brain anomalies in fetuses or infants with presumed or confirmed congenital Zika virus infection; and data that strongly support biologic plausibility, including the identification of Zika virus in the brain tissue of affected fetuses and infants.”
Speaking to CNN, CDC director Tom Frieden said the study marks the turning point in the Zika outbreak.
Unanswered questions
But Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, lead author of the report, cautioned that there are still many questions on the Zika virus that remains unanswered.
This include whether the stage of a woman’s pregnancy at the time of infection affects the outcome of the disease.
Also, not all babies born to a mother who was infected at the time of pregnancy will have birth defects, but the amount of risk remains unknown. Likewise, the scientists have yet to determine the full range of health problems caused by the virus.
“We have studies that are ongoing that we hope will answer these questions as soon as we possibly can,” Rasmussen told CNN.
The CDC report noted that addressing these questions will hopefully improve their ability to reduce the burden of the effects of Zika virus infection during pregnancy.
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