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Saturday, January 30, 2016

Zico Virus - More Than 2,100 Pregnant Colombian Women Infected With Zika Virus Saturday January 30,2016

More than 2,100 pregnant Colombian women are infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the country's national health institute said on Saturday January 30,2016, as the disease continues its spread across the Americas.

The virus has been linked to the devastating birth defect microcephaly, which prevents foetus' brains from developing properly. There is no vaccine or treatment yet.

There are 20,297 confirmed cases of the disease in Colombia, the national health institute said in a epidemiology bulletin, among them 2,116 pregnant women.

There are so far no reported cases of microcephaly or deaths from the virus in Colombia.

The institute said 37.2 percent of pregnant women with Zika live in Norte de Santander province, along the eastern border with Venezuela.

Earlier figures from the health ministry showed 560 pregnant women had the disease, out of more than 13,500 infections.

Zika cases have been confirmed in 23 countries and territories in the Americas and scientists are racing to develop a vaccine for the virus.

Nearly half of Colombia's Zika cases have been reported in the country's Caribbean region, the bulletin said. More than 60 per cent of those infected are women.

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