Thailand Confirms 2 Cases of Zika-Linked Microcephaly
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Thailand confirmed on Friday that the Zika virus had caused two cases of microcephaly, a condition that results in babies being born with small heads, the first time it has been linked to Zika in Southeast Asia.
The confirmation came a day after US health officials recommended that pregnant women postpone nonessential travel to 11 Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, because of the risk of mosquito-borne Zika.
"We have found two cases of small heads linked to Zika, the first cases in Thailand," Prasert Thongcharoen, an adviser to the Department of Disease Control, told reporters in Bangkok.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement the cases were the first of Zika-linked microcephaly in Southeast Asia, according to Reuters.
The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last year in Brazil, which has confirmed more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers.
Zika has spread extensively in Latin American and the Caribbean over the past year or so, and more recently it has been detected cropping up in Southeast Asia.
