U.S. monitoring 279 pregnant women infected with Zika: CDC

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday it's monitoring 157 pregnant women in U.S. states and another 122 in U.S. territories with laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection.

"That is a total of 279 pregnant women in U.S. states and territories," the CDC said in a statement.

"These new numbers reflect a broader group of pregnant women -- pregnant women who have any laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection, and whether or not they recalled symptoms -- compared with numbers previously reported."

Previously, the CDC report included only individuals who had laboratory test results and symptoms or pregnancy complications consistent with Zika.

However, recently published reports indicated that some pregnant women with laboratory evidence of a recent Zika infection but without symptoms have delivered infants with microcephaly and other serious brain defects.

As a result, the CDC will now count all pregnant women who tested positive for Zika, regardless of symptoms.

The tally will come from two newly established enhanced surveillance systems: one in the U.S. states and another for the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, where the mosquito-borne virus is posing a public health challenge. Endit