Over 2,000 pregnant women in Colombia infected with Zika virus
Over 2,000 pregnant women in Colombia have been infected with the Zika virus, amid concerns over rapid spread of the virus suspected of causing irreversible brain damage in newborns.
Colombia currently has 20,297 cases of Zika infection, 2,116 of which are in expectant mothers, AFP reported Saturday, citing National Health Institute’s epidemiological bulletin.
The institute added that 1,050 of Colombia's Zika infection cases were confirmed by laboratory tests and 17,115 by clinical exams, with 2,132 more classified as "suspected" cases.
Zika cases have been confirmed in 23 countries and territories in the Americas. The latest figures make Colombia the second nation in South America most affected by the mosquito-borne virus, after Brazil, which remains the epicenter of the outbreak with nearly 3,700 reported cases of microcephaly suspected to be related to Zika. According to WHO authorities, between 500,000 and 1.5 million people are infected with Zika across Brazil.
This is while Colombian women have been the most affected by Zika, accounting for 63.6 percent of the cases.
Although the symptoms of the virus are relatively mild, it is believed to be associated with a surge in cases of microcephaly, a devastating condition in which a baby is born with an abnormally small head and brain. It is an untreatable disease that may lead to permanent damage to the child's motor and cognitive development.
Health authorities in Bogota expect more than 600,000 people to be infected with the virus in Colombia this year, further projecting nearly 500 cases of microcephaly.
While nearly 193 municipalities across Colombia have already been affected by Zika, authorities are urging couples to postpone attempts to become pregnant for six to eight months.
Authorities in Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico have also cautioned women to delay conceiving.
The World Health Organization issued a warning earlier in the week insisting the virus is "spreading explosively" in South America, with three million to four million cases expected this year.
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