Hard-Hit Colombia Could Be the Key to Understanding the Zika Virus | TIME
▻http://time.com/4312555/colombia-zika-virus-cdc
Colombia has had the second-most cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus after Brazil, and earlier this week health officials from the South American country announced that two more babies had been born with the birth defect microcephaly after their mothers had been infected by the virus. But there was good news—the rate of Zika infection in the country seems to finally be on the decline. “We are absolutely certain that Zika is on the decrease in Colombia,” said Colombian Vice-minister of Health Fernando Ruiz.
Nearly 72,000 people in Colombia have been infected with Zika, which has been linked to serious neurological birth defects and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a nervous system disorder. About 17 percent of those cases have been pregnant women. A total of four cases of microcephaly have been definitively connected with Zika and another 22 suspected cases are currently being studied. Additionally, 304 cases of Guillain-Barré have been confirmed as associated with the virus.
But while rates of new Zika infections are on the decline, microcephaly cases associated with the virus are likely to rise over the next few months, as women infected by the virus earlier in their pregnancy give birth. Martha Ospina, the director of the National Institute of Health in Colombia, said that given the timing of the peak of infection, she expects that over the next three months, that rates of Zika caused microcephaly will increase before tapering off in October.