Case of brain disorder reported in Panama

Desk Report
Microcephaly, a medical condition which causes babies to be born with an underdeveloped brain has been associated to the Zica Virus. There has been a case in Panama in which the baby is diagnosed with this disorder. The baby was reported as deceased only four hours after the delivery. The baby’s umbilical cord showed traces of the virus although the mother has rebuffed all claims of there being any symptoms related to the virus during her pregnancy.
This is the first registered case of the Zica Virus outside Brazil during the recent outbreak which began last year. Reports from Brazil link 860 cases of microcephaly to Zica which is a mosquito-born virus. Despite the fact that most microcephaly cases have been reported in Brazil, the epidemic has spread to 20 different countries in the Americas.
A global public health emergency was announced by the World Health Organization relating microcephaly to the Zica virus. In the meanwhile, although no other cases of this disorder have been registered outside Brazil during the current outbreak, governments have recommended women to delay getting pregnant.