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             Colombia Confirms 2 Cases of Zika-related Microcephaly

   by VOA News

   The first two cases of birth defects associated with the Zika virus
   have been confirmed in Colombia, health authorities announced Thursday.

   This announcement comes two days after the U.S. Centers for Disease
   Control definitively linked microcephaly to the Zika virus.
   Microcephaly is a rare but irreversible condition where babies are born
   with small heads and damaged brains.

   The two confirmed cases were from a group of 33 Colombian babies born
   with microcephaly. Sixteen cases have been determined as unrelated to
   Zika, while the other 15 are still under review. Despite the large
   number of confirmed cases of Zika in South America, Colombia is only
   the second country to confirm related cases of microcephaly.

   Fernando Ruiz, the country's deputy health minister, told a news
   conference that even more cases of Zika-linked microcephaly were
   expected between May and September.

   Health authorities project that between 95 and 300 more cases of
   Zika-related microcephaly may be confirmed.

   Colombia has reported some 70,000 cases of the mosquito-borne Zika
   virus - the highest number in Latin America after Brazil in this
   epidemic that has spread as far north as the United States.
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   ted-microcephaly/3285962.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/colombia-confirms-two-cases-zika-related-microcephaly/3285962.html