Brazil Declares Emergency After 2,400 Babies are Born with Brain Damage, Possibly Due to Mosquito-Borne Virus

Rio de Janeiro, which will be the host of the 2016 Olympic Games, is one of the areas in Brazil where the Zika virus has been found, and local officials have been aggressive about trying to eradicate mosquito breeding grounds. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

washingtonpost.com - by Ariana Eunjung Cha - December 23, 2015

Brazilian health authorities are sounding the alarm about a mosquito-borne virus that they believe may be the cause of thousands of infants being born with damaged brains.

The pathogen, known as Zika and first discovered in forest monkeys in Africa over 70 years ago, is the new West Nile -- a virus that causes mild symptoms in most but can lead to serious neurological complications or even death in others. Brazil's health ministry said on Nov. 28 that it had found the Zika virus in a baby with microcephaly — a rare condition in which infants are born with shrunken skulls — during an autopsy after the child died. The virus was also found in the amniotic fluid of two mothers whose babies had the condition.

"This is an unprecedented situation, unprecedented in world scientific research," the ministry said in a statement on its website, according to CNN.

Brazil is investigating more than more than 2,400 suspected cases of microcephaly and 29 deaths of infants that occurred this year. Last year the country saw only 147 cases of microcephaly.

The situation in Brazil is so overwhelming that Angela Rocha, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist in Pernambuco, one of the hardest hit states, said in an interview with CNN that women may want to hold off on getting pregnant.

"These are newborns who will require special attention their entire lives. It's an emotional stress that just can't be imagined...," Rocha said. "We're talking about a generation of babies that's going to be affected."

Until a few years ago, human infections with the virus were almost unheard of. Then, for reasons scientists can't explain but think may have to do with the complicated effects of climate change, it began to pop up in far-flung parts of the world.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

(ALSO SEE IMPORTANT RELATED TOPICS WITHIN THE LINKS BELOW)

CLICK HERE - BBC - Brazil state announces Zika fever emergency

CLICK HERE - WGN TV - Puerto Rico reports its first mosquito-borne Zika case

CLICK HERE - Newsweek - ZIKA VIRUS IS SPREADING OUTSIDE BRAZIL AND COULD THREATEN U.S.

CLICK HERE - CDC - Possible association between Zika virus and microcephaly (1 page .PDF file)

CLICK HERE - CDC - Zika Virus

CLICK HERE - WHO - PAHO - Zika Virus Infection