Two LatAm countries warn would-be mothers to postpone in fear of Zika risk to fetus

A team of Brazilian researchers said Wednesday the mosquito-borne virus Zika poses a risk to the fetus, and at least two Latin American countries warned would-be mothers to postpone pregnancy.

Scientists at the state-run Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and the Carlos Chagas Institute said tests showed the virus can infiltrate the placenta and infect the fetus.

The researchers found Zika DNA in the placenta of a pregnant woman in the country's northwest, the region hardest hit by the disease, which has sparked an epidemic of infants suffering from microcephaly, or abnormally small heads.

The woman in question had a miscarriage, according to reports.

In Colombia, the Ministry of Health "is asking couples to put off getting pregnant until the Zika epidemic is over," the Caracol news network reported.

The epidemic "could last until July 2016," the ministry said in a release.

"Officials warn the virus could cause microcephaly in the fetus, resulting in mental retardation, cerebral palsy, blindness or hearing loss, among other afflictions," the daily said.

Some 11,712 cases of Zika were registered in Colombia in 2015, and 297 of those cases involved pregnant women, the daily added.

Jamaica issued a similar warning on Tuesday, advising women to delay pregnancy for the next 12 months due to the imminent threat of the virus.

Brazil, meanwhile, "fears nearly 3,900 possible cases of microcephaly," the G1 news service said Wednesday, with the state of Pernambuco believed to have the highest number of 1,306.

In neighboring Bolivia, the Health Ministry decided not to recommend women put off pregnancy, due to a lack of sufficient data.

The ministry's head of epidemiology, Rodolfo Rocabado, told reporters in La Paz, "we can't say to someone whether she can get pregnant or not, because neither do we have the statistics to show that in our country there has been a case of microcephaly linked to the virus."

The Zika virus reached Latin America in March 2014, through Brazil, where it has spread rapidly, causing a spike in the number of microcephalies detected by the medical community.

In the U.S. state of Florida, the local health department said three people were diagnosed with the virus, and two had traveled to Colombia in December and the third had traveled to Venezuela, also at the end of the year. Endit