SPAIN – A woman in Spain infected with the Zika virus has reportedly given birth to a baby with the brain disease, a development which has alarmed health experts for being the first such birth in Europe.
The neonatal chief at Barcelona’s Vall d’Hebron hospital, said that the child’s vital signs were “normal and stable” but unfortunately the circumference of the child’s head was “smaller than normal”, confirming that it had microcephaly.
He said the child was being constantly monitored, adding that the parents were “very excited” about the birth. The gender of the baby is being kept hidden for privacy.
The mother, who’s identity has not been revealed, caught the virus on a trip abroad but authorities have declined to say where. A hospital source said she was infected in Latin America, where the virus is prevalent.
