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The number of women infected with the Zika virus during their pregnancies in the continental United States has risen to 234, health officials said on Thursday. Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declined to say how many of the women had given birth, citing confidentiality concerns for the women and their families. But they did cite six cases with abnormalities — three babies with birth defects and another three who died before birth with evidence of defects. (Tavernise, 6/16)

The health agency provided few details about the six women, their pregnancies, the birth defects or their severity. Three cases ended in "pregnancy loss" but the CDC did not say whether it was from miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion. While the women had Zika infections, the officials said they did not know whether the birth defects were caused by the virus or other factors. (Stobbe, 6/16)

The U.S. cases so far involve women who contracted the virus outside the United States in areas with active Zika outbreaks, or were infected through unprotected sex with an infected partner. There have not yet been any cases reported of local transmission of the virus in the United States. Health experts expect local transmission to occur as mosquito season gets underway with warmer weather, especially in Gulf Coast states, such as Florida and Texas. (Berkrot, 6/16)

The early signs of what the US may experience from Zika infections among pregnant women are worrying, admitted Dr. Denise Jamieson, co-lead for the CDC’s Zika pregnancy and birth defects task force. “I’m very concerned,” she told STAT. “What we’re seeing among US travel-associated cases and US travelers is the same pattern that we’re seeing in other places like Colombia and Brazil.” (Branswell, 6/16)

In coming weeks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to begin reporting the pregnancy outcomes of women infected with the Zika virus. The agency has been collecting information on pregnant women, who are most affected because the virus can cause their fetuses to develop microcephaly, which stunts brain and skull development, as well as other significant birth defects. (Cohn, 6/17)

The information released Thursday provides additional details about the impact of the virus on pregnant women in the United States. The agency is monitoring 234 pregnant women with Zika on the U.S. mainland who contracted the virus through travel or an infected partner; another 189 are being monitored in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. Widespread local transmission already is occurring in Puerto Rico, and officials expect that about 20 percent of the island’s 3.5 million residents could become infected. (Sun, 6/16)

[Evaristo] Miqueli is on the front line in the ground war against this year’s two most-feared urban mosquitoes -- Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (also known as the yellow fever mosquito and Asian tiger mosquito, respectively). Both can spread the dangerous Zika virus, which causes devastating birth defects in babies and has been called a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. ... Mosquito-fighting pros such as Miqueli, 67, who keeps a clear garbage bag with thousands of the dead insects in his office, are an often forgotten part of the nation’s public health system both in Florida and nationally — until an outbreak occurs. (Galewitz, 6/17)

The Zika virus is "currently one of the most pressing health issues we are facing as a state, community and as a world," Florida Surgeon General and Secretary of Health Dr. Celeste Philip told Broward legislators on Thursday. (Dimmer, 6/16)

Two new cases of travel-related Zika virus have been confirmed in Louisiana, the state Department of Health and Hospitals announced Thursday (June 16). The patients had both traveled to a region with Zika transmission, and the infections were confirmed after they sought medical treatment in Louisiana. (Lipinski, 6/16)

In Rio, "impoverished" areas refers to the urban neighborhoods known as "favelas." But Brazilian scientists say the link between poverty and Zika is not clear, especially in Rio de Janeiro. While the Zika virus only recently arrived to Brazil, scientists here have done a lot of studies on the dengue virus, which is transmitted by the same type of mosquito. (Garcia-Navarro, 6/16)