A few years ago, scientists were tasked with investigating why several children were born with small heads. The scientist’s investigations later revealed that it resulted from Zika Virus.
The virus spread all over North America and became an international concern as media outlets were flooded with pictures of babies with tiny heads.
A study conducted in 2016 revealed that 94% of mothers exposed to the virus gave birth to normal children. In addition, the virus spread from North America to the U.S., where it recorded a minimum of 1000 children suffering the same fate.
Several children affected by the virus were closely monitored by pediatricians and child neurologists across the affected areas.
The findings from monitoring affected children
Dr. Sarah Mulkey, a member of the prenatal pediatrics institute, is among the child neurologists that monitored a child’s progress after the exposure. In addition, Dr. Mulkey monitored a pregnant woman diagnosed with the virus while pregnant for 6 years.
The doctor revealed that the baby, now five years old, was utterly healthy during an interview. However, she still monitors him in case of any missed symptoms. Her study cautioned that since children are dependent on their parents, a few symptoms are missed.
She added that some of these symptoms present themselves when children grow older. Her study outlined at least 70 children exposed had challenges while growing up.
The researchers compared the effect of zika virus and COVID-19 on pregnant women
In her study, Mulkey reported that factors could affect an unborn child. In addition, these factors affect the mother during pregnancy, including fever, inflammation, and others.
The doctor compared the effects that both COVID-19 and the zika virus have on pregnant women. Since the pandemic’s beginning, the center for disease control has reported at least 150,000 cases of pregnant women with the virus.
This statistic is a hundred times higher than pregnant women with the Zika virus recorded. However, there are no congenital disabilities associated with Covid-19 in babies. The only health conditions that arise are due to premature birth. Health conditions vary from one baby to another, including cerebral palsy and vision defects.
