Lexington baby tests positive for Zika virus but shows no effects; later found not to be infected
findings indicate that the infant was not exposed to the virus in the womb, as was originally thought in July,” says a news release from the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department.
A baby born in Lexington showed antibodies for the Zika virus but no apparent effects of it, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department announced Friday. It is Kentucky’s 10th confirmed case of Zika, which can cause birth defects such as an abnormally small head and brain.
Health Director Kraig Humbaugh said the mother had traveled early in her pregnancy to an unspecified area known to have been affected by the virus. “Health officials say the infant’s mother never described symptoms of illness,” Victor Puente of WKYT-TV reports.
While the baby showed antibiodies for Zika, it showed no other evidence of the virus, and apparently fought it off, Puente reports. Humbaugh said the mother and child present no risk to public health. He said pregnant women, or those planning to become pregnant, should cancel or postpone travel to Zika-affected areas.