Currently browsing tag

months-or-years

Costa Rica confirms microcephaly birth, possible Zika link

A Salvadoran woman suspected of being infected with the Zika virus has given birth in Costa Rica to a baby girl that tested positive for microcephaly, a rare birth defect, authorities said on Friday. If confirmed, the case would mark the sixth instance of microcephaly linked to a Zika infection in Central America and the first in Costa Rica. According to the World Health Organization, there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis, though conclusive proof may take months or years.