A baby recently born in Florida to a woman who had a travel-related case of Zika has the state's first Zika-related case of microcephaly, health officials said Tuesday.
- Baby with Zika-related microcephaly born in Florida
- Mom, from Haiti, came to Florida to have baby
- Health officials working with family to provide support
Microcephaly is a birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and incomplete brain development. The babies often suffer from various developmental, intellectual and coordination problems.
The Haitian mother had traveled to Florida to deliver the baby, the Florida Department of Health said. Health officials are working with the woman's family to connect them to state support programs.
“It is heartbreaking to learn that a baby has been born with Zika-related microcephaly in our state, and my thoughts and prayers are with the mother and child," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement. “Now that a baby has been born in our state with adverse impacts from Zika, it is clear that every available resource is needed to prevent local transmissions in our state.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discourages women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant from traveling to Zika-affected areas.