Brazil’s Zika Epidemic Worsens

From Zika News
June 4, 2020

As the COVID-19 disease pandemic dominates the world media headlines, the Zika virus has steadily put women and children at grave risk in the Federative Republic of Brazil.

Recently, Brazil’s Ministry of Health identified 579 new suspected cases of Zika between December 2019 and February 2020.

This is concerning news since a ‘Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause congenital conditions in infants,’ said Human Rights (HRW), on May 28, 2020.

Due to the Zika virus, more than 1,600 babies were born in Brazil with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads, from September 2015 through April 2016.

Brazil’s Zika epidemic took health professionals by surprise because the virus had been known since 1947 and was not linked to birth defects.

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