More than 800 pregnant US women have Zika

Staff -

As of Sept. 22, 808 pregnant women in the U.S. have evidence of Zika virus infection, which can put their fetuses at risk for birth defects like microcephaly, the CDC reports.

Already, 21 babies have been born in the U.S. with Zika-related birth defects, and five women have lost their pregnancies with birth defects, according to the CDC.

An additional 1,490 pregnant women in U.S. territories also have laboratory evidence of a possible Zika infection, and one baby has been born in the territories with Zika-related birth defects.

All total, 3,625 Zika cases have been reported in the U.S. as of Sept. 28. Of those, 59 were acquired via mosquitoes in Florida, and 30 were acquired via sexual transmission.

There are thousands more Zika cases in the U.S. territories, as 22,069 cases have been reported to the CDC. Of those, most (21,988) were locally acquired.  

Congress finally passed Zika funding this week after months of gridlock. The funds would provide $1.1 billion in federal funds for mosquito control, vaccine development and Zika testing improvement as well as support to Puerto Rico, which reported 21,609 Zika cases at last count.

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