Colombia has registered more than 37,000 cases of people infected with Zika, including more than 6,300 pregnant women, the country’s National Institute of Health reported today. The latest count, based on data reported as of February 13, reflects an increase of 5,456 cases of the mosquito-borne virus in the last week for which data is available.
The rapid spread of the virus has raised alarms in Latin America because it has been tentatively linked to a serious birth defect known as microcephaly in babies born to women who became infected while pregnant.
Microcephaly is an irreversible condition in which a baby is born with an abnormally small head and brain. Colombia has reported the largest number of cases in Latin America after Brazil, where the outbreak was first detected last year and where 1.5 million Zika cases have been reported.