Zika virus outbreak: Microcephaly cases rise to 5,079 in Brazil

Zee Media Bureau

Brasilia: Brazil says the number of infants born with suspected microcephaly has now reached 5,079, a six precent increase in last 10 days.

The country is at the epicenter of a mosquito-borne virus Zika, which is linked to microcephaly, a rare birth defect that causes infants to have smaller heads and brains than normal babies.

Among them, 462 cases were confirmed, 765 ruled out and the remaining 3,852 were still under investigation, the Ministry of Health was quoted as saying on Friday.

The rapid increase was attributed to the Zika virus, which has been spreading across the country.

However, for the moment, no formal link has been established between these congenital malformations in newborns and the virus.

The six percent increase is smaller than the rate of growth seen in previous announcements of new cases. In last week's update, the pace was 14 percent.

But it was suspected that the annual Carnival festivities, which took place last week, might have slowed down the reporting process of new cases.

Furthermore, according to the ministry, of the new 462 cases, 41 babies have been confirmed as having links to the Zika virus through the mother during pregnancy.

As for the 765 eliminated cases, they were all incidents where fetuses presented a malformation but later exams proved they were normal or the malformation had no link to Zika.

Additionally, 24 babies have died in the country due to microcephaly and accompanying damage to the nervous system. However, 59 more deaths were under investigation and may be linked to the same conditions. These numbers included newborns and stillborn fetuses.

Of all the registered cases of microcephaly, 29 percent originated in the northeastern state of Pernambuco.

On Friday, the Brazilian Healthy Minister Marcelo Castro said that the authorities were 'absolutely sure' that Zika virus is connected to microcephaly although the link has not been scientifically proven.

(With IANS inputs)