Sreemoyee Chatterjee
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Written By: Sreemoyee Chatterjee | Published : August 8, 2018 5:38 PM IST
While scientists are working hard on coming up with a vaccine againstZika virus that is caused by a day bite of Aedes mosquitoes, it is a pandemic scare, globally as we don't have a vaccine yet. Alarmingly, this virus can get passed to foetus from pregnant mothers, causing a great deal of damage to new borns, both before and after birth. Skin rashes, fever, joint pains and redness of eyes or conjunctivitis are early symptoms of Zika that pregnant mothers should be careful of. Here is all you need to know how Zika virus can affect your baby.
Zika and Microcephaly: When a baby is born with reduced brain and head size compared to other normal babies, the condition is called microcephaly. It is a birth defect that happens when the brain is not adequately developed. Zika virus during pregnancy is a leading factor that causes microcephaly. In case a pregnant mother contracts Zika infection, there are very high chances that the foetus may get infected as well. This can result in slowing down of brain development inside the womb or even after birth.
Congenital Zika syndrome: It is an exclusive pattern of birth defect that occurs in foetuses and babies infected with Zika during pregnancy where the virus gets passed on to foetuses from the pregnant mother. Congenital Zika syndrome is characterised by five main features including severe microcephaly with a partially collapsed skull, reduced brain tissue with a particular kind of brain damage, scarring or pigment changes in the back of the eye, impaired joints with restricted range of motion like clubfoot and extensive muscle tone limiting movement of body soon after birth.
Your baby may lose vision to Zika: Babies infected with Zika before birth may have damaged eyes or damaged part of the brain that is responsible for vision. This may directly have an adverse impact on the baby's vision. In case your baby is born being infected with Zika, he or she must go for screenings and vision tests as recommended by doctors.
Zika infected babies may have seizures and mobility issues: Congenital Zika syndrome may make it a challenge for your baby to sit, sleep and feed independently. They may also go through seizures and hearing problems. They may not be able to follow a moving object with their eyes or respond to a sound of rattle.
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