Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC: There's No Longer Any Doubt That Zika Causes Birth Defects
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday that there was now enough evidence to definitively say that the Zika virus could cause unusually small heads and brain damage in infants born to infected mothers. The conclusion should settle months of debate about the connection between the infection and these birth defects, called microcephaly, as well as other neurological abnormalities, the officials said. (Belluck and McNeil, 4/13)
The study marks a turning point in the current Zika outbreak, says Dr. Tom Frieden, chief of the CDC. "There's still a lot that we don't know, he says. "But there is no longer any doubt that Zika causes microcephaly." A causal link between the bite of a mosquito and brain malformations is unprecedented, he says. "And it is because this was so unprecedented that we have until now waited to say that we have concluded that there is a causal link." (Bichell, 4/13)
The announcement comes at a critical time for the Obama Administration, which has been urging the Republican-controlled Congress to grant nearly $1.9 billion in emergency funds to fight the virus, which is already affecting Puerto Rico and is expected to hit parts of the United States with the coming of mosquito-friendly warmer weather. (Steenhuysen, Berkrot, Cornwell and Gardner, 4/13)
"We do know that a lot of people aren't concerned about Zika infection in the United States, and they don't know a lot about it," said Sonja Rasmussen, director of CDC's division of public health information. "It's my hope that we can be more convincing that Zika does cause these severe birth defects in babies and hope that people will focus on prevention more carefully." The research is likely to help scientists developing a vaccine for Zika, she said. (Sun, 4/13)
For now, the CDC’s guidance for pregnant women remains the same. They recommend that pregnant women avoid travel to Zika-hit regions. Infected men, with or without symptoms, can pass Zika virus to sexual partners. So, the CDC recommends abstinence or condom usage for couples if a male partner has traveled to a Zika-impacted region. (Akpan, 4/13)
