Doctor: Baby born with Zika in NJ may be 1st in region

HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) – Hospital officials say a baby born in northern New Jersey may be the first in the tri-state area to be born with the Zika (ZEE’-kuh) virus.

Dr. Manny Alvarez, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Hackensack University Medical Center, says a 31-year-old woman from Honduras delivered a baby girl suffering from the virus Tuesday afternoon through a cesarean section.

Alvarez says the baby wasn’t doing well and a high-risk team decided to deliver her more than a month prematurely.

An ultrasound on Friday confirmed the baby had birth defects, including low birth weight and severe microcephaly (my-kroh-SEF’-uh-lee), in which the baby’s head is smaller than expected.

Alvarez says federal authorities have confirmed she had the Zika virus.

The mother contracted the disease from a mosquito bite in Honduras.