1 in 7 Zika babies born with defects in US

China orders recall from overseas as vaccine scandal churns

In this photo taken on Aug 3, 2018 Philippe Hujoel, a dentist and University of Washington professor, holds a toothbrush and toothpaste in an office at the

school in Seattle. (AP)

TAMPA, Aug 8, (Agencies): About one in seven babies who were exposed to the Zika virus in the womb have at least one developmental defect a year later, said a US study Tuesday.

The rate of abnormalities — about 14 percent — represents more than 30 times the level expected in infants that were not exposed to the mosquitoborne virus, officials with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Health problems included small head size — known as microcephaly — brain or eye damage, seizures, and developmental delays, said the CDC Vital Signs report, the largest study to date on outcomes of babies born to mothers who were infected with Zika during pregnancy.

“Some of these problems were not apparent at birth and were identified as the babies grew older,” said the report, which included more than 4,800 pregnancies that had positive lab tests for Zika in the US territories of American Samoa, Micronesia, Puerto Rico, Marshall Islands, and US Virgin Islands from 2016-2018.

The report focused on the US territories, which were hardest hit by the outbreak, and did not include US mainland cases.

“From these pregnancies, 1,450 babies were at least one year old and had some follow-up care reported for this analysis,” it said.

A total of 203 “had a Zika-associated birth defect, neurodevelopmental abnormality possibly associated with congenital Zika virus infection identified, or both.”

The rate of Zika-related birth defects is on par with prior studies in Brazil and other areas that were hard hit by Zika, said Peggy Honein, director of CDC’s Division of Congenital and Developmental Disorders.

Pregnancies

“We have pretty consistently seen five to 10 percent of the babies from pregnancies with Zika having one of these brain or eye defects, or microcephaly,” she told reporters on a conference call.

“There have been some reports that have used different criteria and have included a broader range of outcomes, including some findings on MRI imaging of unknown clinical significance and if you use broader criteria you will see more babies affected,” she added.

“We think there isn’t a geographic difference but more of a case-criteria difference.”

There have been 74 cases of Zika so far this year in the US territories, almost all in Puerto Rico, said Lyle Pedersen, director of CDC’s Division of Vector Borne Infectious Diseases.

“There is ongoing transmission in Puerto Rico, but it is at a much lower level than obviously we have seen in previous years,” he said.

A massive outbreak of Zika swept Latin America and the Caribbean beginning in 2015, eventually reaching 86 countries in the Americas and Africa. The last known case of local transmission of Zika on the US mainland was in 2017, with two cases in Florida and five in Texas, officials said.

Zika can cause a rash, headaches and muscle aches but is particularly dangerous to pregnant women because it has been proven to cause birth defects, including structural damage to the fetus’s brain, eyes and nervous system.

The virus can be spread by mosquitoes and also by sexual contact.

Women who are pregnant are urged to stay away from areas where Zika transmission is ongoing, and men who have been exposed are advised to wait three months before attempting to conceive with a partner.

“The Zika story is not yet over. We are still learning more every day about the full impact of these infections,” said Honein.

BEIJING:

Also:

Investigators in China have begun recalling defective vaccines produced by a Chinese drugmaker from domestic and overseas markets, health authorities said.

Investigators found Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd had blended expired fluids in its vaccines and falsified records from as early as April 2014, the National Health Commission said in a statement Tuesday.

The names of the overseas countries were not given, but the recall indicated the scandal gripping China may have spread to foreign markets, dealing a potentially heavy blow to the reputation of China’s sprawling pharmaceutical sector.

The commission did not immediately respond to a fax Wednesday seeking comment.

Regulators ordered a production halt last month, but public anger soared after documents leaked online showed regulators had found inconsistencies in 2017 but failed to take immediate action.

Beni, DR Congo:

Nine confirmed Ebola victims have died since the virus resurfaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo this month, the country’s health ministry said Tuesday.

The previous official toll was seven dead, with the two latest victims — like all the others — registered in the Beni region in North Kivu province, an eastern region with deep security problems which shares borders with Uganda and Rwanda.

The health ministry on Aug 1 announced that the country was facing its 10th outbreak of Ebola since 1976.

Thirty-three people died in an outbreak in the northwest which was only declared over at the end of July.

“In total, 43 cases of haemorrhagic fever have been reported in the (Beni) region, including 16 confirmed and 27 probable, and 46 suspected cases are under investigation,” the ministry said Tuesday.