Zika Can Cause Microcephaly Even If Moms Have No Symptoms, Report Says

"Pregnant women who become infected with the Zika virus are at risk of having babies with the severe birth defect known as microcephaly, regardless of whether they have symptoms of the disease, according to a new report.

The findings, part of the first comprehensive look at the Zika outbreak in Colombia, one of the countries hardest hit by the mosquito-borne virus, add to the growing body of evidence about the potentially devastating consequences of Zika.

The report Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine said nearly 66,000 people, including nearly 12,000 pregnant women, were reported to have Zika virus infections in Colombia from August 2015 though early April, 2016.

Cases of microcephaly are starting to emerge in Colombia. From Jan. 1, 2016 through April 28, 2016, four infants were born with microcephaly and had laboratory-confirmed Zika virus infections. But none of these infants' mothers had symptoms of the disease during pregnancy and were not reported as part of the government's monitoring."

Lena H. Sun reports for the Washington Post June 15, 2016.