SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The first Zika-related microcephaly case on U.S. soil was reported Friday in Puerto Rico as concerns grow over an outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus in the U.S. territory.
Ana Rius, the island’s health secretary, said a fetus turned over by an unidentified Puerto Rican woman to U.S. health officials had severe microcephaly and tested positive for Zika. Rius declined to say whether the woman had an abortion or miscarried but said the microcephaly was diagnosed through a sonogram. She declined to provide other details.
Zika can cause severe birth defects, such as babies being born with abnormally small heads and brain damage. The World Health Organization declared Zika a global emergency in February.
Puerto Rico has counted 925 cases of Zika, including 128 pregnant women. At least 14 pregnant women infected with Zika have given birth to healthy babies.
Rius said the unidentified woman who donated her fetus did not test positive for Zika or present symptoms but she clearly was infected at one point.
The health secretary noted that there is only a short period when people with Zika test positive for the virus, and after that it no longer shows up.
