Medics probing head-shrinking birth defects in
Brazil say just SIX cases from 700 babies examined .Medics in Brazil investigating
head-shrinking birth defects linked to the Zika virus revealed last night there
were just six cases from more than 700 children examined.
Researchers have been probing 4,180 suspected microcephaly
cases reported since October - and doing intense analysis on 732 of those cases
which has confirmed 270 and ruled out the other 462.
However Brazil's Health Ministry said only six of the 270
confirmed cases were found to have the Zika virus - with two being stillborn
and four live births, three of whom later died
Experts say it is hard to say what the figures mean, because they do not
answer whether the tropical Zika virus is causing the babies to have unusually
small heads - or explain the size of the problem.
Experts say it is hard to say what the figures mean, because they do not
answer whether the tropical Zika virus is causing the babies to have unusually
small heads - or explain the size of the problem.
Paul Roepe, director of the Center for Infectious Disease at
Georgetown University in Washington DC, said: ‘I don't think we should lower
our alarm over the Zika outbreak.’
Brazilian officials still say they believe there's a sharp
increase in cases of microcephaly and strongly suspect the Zika virus, which
first appeared in the country last year, is to blame.
The concern is strong enough that the United States Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention this month warned pregnant women to
reconsider visits to areas where Zika is present.
Meanwhile officials in El Salvador, Colombia and Brazil have
even suggested women stop getting pregnant until the crisis has passed. But the World Health Organization and others have stressed
that any link between Zika and the defect remains circumstantial and is not yet
proven scientifically
And the new figures were a reminder of just how little is
known about the disease and its effects.
The arrival of the mosquito-borne illness in Brazil
initially caused little alarm as the virus' symptoms are generally much milder
than those of dengue.
I
don't think we should lower our alarm over the Zika outbreak
Paul
Roepe, Georgetown University Then late last year, after noting what they said was a spike
in the birth defect, Brazilian authorities for the first time asked doctors to
report cases of patients in their care. So there are no solid numbers to
compare with the new tally.
In 2014, only about 150 cases were reported in Brazil in a
year - a surprisingly small amount for a largest country with nearly 3 million
births a year.
The United States, with about 4 million births a year, has
an estimated 2,500 cases of microcephaly a year, said Margaret Honein, a CDC
epidemiologist.
Brazilian health officials have dismissed the idea there
might have been a large number of unreported cases previously.
But the rate of recorded microcephaly cases was only a fraction of what
some experts thought it ought to be. In establishing a registry, the Health Ministry cast a wide
net, including live births, stillborn and miscarried babies, and foetuses shown
to have unusually small heads by ultrasound or other diagnostic tests, the
ministry said.
In subsequent investigation, tests were done to see if the
brain has been affected. The condition can cause lasting developmental
problems.
Brazilian health official did not detail what they found in
the 462 reports that were ruled out, but many of them were just premature and
under-sized, a health ministry spokesman said.
The birth defect can be caused by factors such as genetics,
malnutrition or drugs. Infections are also a cause - in the US, one of the
leading causes is cytomegalovirus - although Zika-like viruses have not
previously been linked to microcephaly.
The CDC's Ms Honein said shifts in the numbers reported out
of Brazil were not surprising, and much more investigation is needed.
She was echoed by Dr Ganeshwaran Mochida, a paediatric
neurologist at Boston Children's Hospital who specializes in microcephaly.
He said 270 confirmed cases ‘is still quite a substantial
number’ in a country that has been reporting far lower counts. He also said that health official will have to watch for
other problems, including far less obvious issues that can be caused by
congenital infections - for example, deafness.
Brazilian officials said the babies with the defect and
their mothers are being tested to see if they had been infected.
On Tuesday, Brazil's health minister, Marcelo Castro,
announced that 220,000 military personnel were being deployed to bolster
efforts to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits Zika, dengue,
chikungunya and yellow fever.
Mr Castro said the government also would distribute mosquito
repellent to some 400,000 pregnant women.
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