Two California babies born with Zika-related birth defects are first in state, officials say

Two babies in Califoia are the first in the state to be bo with Zika-related microcephaly, a birth defect that scientists recently linked to the mosquito-boe virus, state health officials aounced Thursday.

The two women who gave birth to the infants were infected by the Zika virus during pregnancy after spending time in a country where the virus is endemic, said Dr. Karen Smith, state director for the Califoia Department of Public Health. One woman has retued to her homeland, Smith said.

Microcephaly is a birth defect in which a baby’s head is smaller than expected, compared with babies of the same sex and age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Babies with microcephaly often develop smaller brains. About 100 infants are bo with microcephaly every year in Califoia, but the two births aounced Thursday are the first to have direct links to the Zika virus, Smith said.

• RELATED STORY: Califoia gets ‘critical’ funds to track babies bo with defects caused by Zika virus

Both infants were bo this year, but Smith would not release any other information on when the babies were bo or in which counties. But she said the births are a reminder to women who are pregnant to stay away from countries where there are Zika outbreaks, such as in Brazil, where the Summer Olympics are underway.

“This is a sobering reminder for Califoians that Zika can cause serious harm to a developing fetus,” Smith said. “We join the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in urging pregnant women to avoid travel to areas with known Zika transmission. Pregnant women who must travel to one of these areas should strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites and speak with a health care provider upon retu.”

There are 21 Califoia women who tested positive for Zika and who are pregnant. Nine of them live in Los Angeles County, said Dr. Benjamin Schwartz, deputy chief of the acute communicable disease control program at the county’s public health department. Many have traveled in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, he said, where there have been Zika outbreaks.

“It really emphasizes that Zika infections can have a very serious consequence in families,” Schwartz said of the two Califoia babies bo with microcephaly.

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While mosquitoes that can carry the virus have been found in 12 Califoia counties, there is no evidence these mosquitoes are transmitting Zika in the state at this time, Smith added.

Schwartz and state health officials agreed that Califoia likely won’t see any large outbreaks such as those occurring in other countries because homes have window screens, more people have air conditioning and vector control is proactive. But that doesn’t mean people should abandon all precautions, Schwartz noted.

“While it may not be as likely, it’s a high consequence,” he said.

L.A. County public health experts are working with vector control agencies to map out where the local cases are in relation to the mosquitoes that can carry Zika, Schwartz added, and he urged all residents to drain containers, planters and other small areas in yards where water can gather. The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads Zika as well as chikungunya and dengue fever, can breed in small, wet spaces, he said.

Thursday’s aouncement comes just days after the CDC aounced that Califoia will receive $3.6u2009million over five years to follow babies with Zika-related microcephaly.

A total of 114 travel-associated Zika virus infections have been reported in Califoia since 2015, according to the state’s department of public health. Of those, 24 are from Losu2009Angeles County, which reports the highest number of any jurisdiction in the state. One San Diego woman was infected through sexual contact after her partner had traveled and retued from Colombia.

There are no local transmissions reported in Califoia so far.

Like Westu2009Nile virus, Zika is primarily transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. Some symptoms include acute onset of fever, a flat red rash and joint pain. Although death is rare, one out of five people infected with Zikau2009virus can become very ill, according to the CDC. Scientists recently leaed that Zika virus can also be spread through sexual relations.