National news about the Zika virus hit especially close to home this week when a baby infected with the disease was born on Tuesday at Hackensack University Medical Center, making New Jersey home to the second documented case of a baby born in the United States after the first was born in Hawaii in January.
According to news reports, the mother is from Honduras and, after becoming concerned her baby may have Zika-related issues, traveled to New Jersey, where she has relatives, in hopes of receiving better medical care. The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquito bites and has been associated with microcephaly – a birth defect that causes a small brain and head – as well as other severe fetal brain defects.
Dr. Abdulla Al-Khan, director of maternal and fetal medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center, told CNN that doctors first examined the mother when she came to the hospital on Friday and that an ultrasound screening revealed the baby had significant microcephaly.
Though there are currently 300 pregnant women in the U.S. and its territories known to have the virus who are being followed as part of a national registry, the good news is that there are still no locally-borne cases in New Jersey.
And there are a few basic things you can do to protect yourself. "If you are pregnant or planning to be pregnant, travel to affected countries should be postponed until cleared by the CDC," Ashwin Jathavedam, MD, Infectious Disease Specialist at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, told Bergen Mama earlier this year. "If you are pregnant and traveled to one of the 24 affected countries in the last several weeks, consult with your physician as to appropriate next steps." You can see the entire list of affected countries here.
Jathavedam also suggests staying vigilant with bug spray. "The best method of prevention is avoidance of bites by covering up and using adequate insect repellants such as DEET."
Check out our list of the safest and most effective bug repellents here.
