CDC: 0.8% of pregnant women tested for Zika virus in states infected

About 2.9% of pregnant women with symptoms and 0.3% of those without symptoms had Zika virus when tested after traveling to or from areas with active transmission, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s 0.8% of all pregnant women living in U.S. states who were tested for the virus by CDC between Jan. 3 and March 5. The finding is based on 4,534 residents of U.S. states tested over the period, 73.6% of whom were pregnant women. Overall, 11.8% of those with symptoms and 0.3% of those without symptoms were found to have Zika virus. “[I]t is reassuring that the proportion of asymptomatic pregnant women with confirmed Zika virus infection in this report was low,” the report states. “However, because of the potential serious adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes associated with maternal Zika virus infection, health care providers should continue to offer testing to pregnant women with potential exposure to Zika virus, even if they do not have symptoms.” As of this week, U.S. states have reported 358 travel-associated cases of Zika virus. For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/zika and www.aha.org/zika.