It also reinforces the understanding that women infected in the early stages of pregnancy face the greatest risk. The Zika virus causes only a mild and brief illness, at worst, in most people. But health officials say Zika can cause other birth defects, too. The Rio study, though, found other harms in babies born to women infected during the second or third trimesters, experts noted. A large Zika epidemic would lead to more babies born with birth defects, but the chance that an individual baby would be affected shrinks as an outbreak progresses.

Source: National Post May 26, 2016 09:18 UTC