2 Infants Born In California With Zika-Related Microcephaly

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Two infants have been born in California with Zika-related microcephaly, California health officials said Thursday.

The babies were born to women who had Zika virus infections during pregnancy, after spending time in a country where the virus is endemic, according to the California Department of Public Health.

The newborns survived. One of the mothers returned to her home country with her baby while the other remains in the state, health officials said.

The locations of the mothers and the children were not released to protect their privacy, but health officials say they will monitor the infants for a year.

The babies born with birth defects, including microcephaly, due to maternal Zika infection do not pose a public health risk to their communities, health officials said.

As of last Friday, state health officials confirmed 114 travel-associated Zika virus infections in 22 counties. A total of 21 infections have been confirmed in pregnant women.

The type of mosquitoes that can carry the virus have been found in 12 California counties, but health officials say there is no evidence at this time Zika has been transmitted via mosquito in the state.

Nationwide, 13 babies have been born with Zika-related birth defects, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC has advised pregnant women not to travel to parts of Latin America and the Caribbean where Zika transmission is active. The virus is usually spread by mosquitoes, but it can also be passed through sex.

Most people infected with Zika experience mild symptoms such as fever, rash and joint pain. Zika infection during pregnancy can cause babies to be born with unusually small heads, called microcephaly.

Florida is the only U.S. state so far that has reported homegrown Zika transmission by mosquitoes in a square-mile neighborhood in Miami-Dade County. The CDC has urged expectant mothers to avoid Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, where at least 15 people are believed to have been infected with the Zika virus through mosquito bites.

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