Of the 13 infants, 11 gradually developed the birth defect microcephaly, or abnormally small head size, in the monthsfollowing birth. The findings raise new concerns about the hidden effects of pre-natal exposure to the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been shown to cause birth defects when women become infected during pregnancy. On Friday, the World Health Organization declared the global Zika emergency over because the link between Zika andmicrocephaly has been confirmed. Although others have observed neurological problems in infants exposed to Zika during gestation, the study is the firstto carefully document birth defects in a group of babies with confirmed Zika exposure whose head circumference fell into the normal range at birth. The remaining two, born with normal head circumferences, were referred for evaluation at 5 to 7 months because of developmental concerns.

Source: CBC News November 22, 2016 16:51 UTC