1st LD Writethru: Spain reports Europe's first birth of baby with microcephaly

Spain has reported Europe's first case of a baby born with microcephaly, a birth defect related to the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the Hospital Vall d'Hebron in Barcelona reported on Monday.

The mother had been infected by the Zika virus during a trip to Latin America and malformations were detected after 20 weeks of pregnancy, but she refused to abort.

The baby was born by cesarean section, did not need any resuscitation, and remains stable, according to the hospital.

"The evolution of the baby will depend on the lack of growth of this brain," said Felix Castillo, from the hospital's neonatal department, highlighting that at the moment the baby's situation was not serious.

The regional government of Catalonia, Generalitat reported that a total of 91 cases had been detected in Catalonia, 21 of them were pregnant women, of which five gave birth to healthy children.

In Spain, a total of 190 cases of the Zika virus have been detected, 26 of them were pregnant women.

Microcephaly is a birth defect marked by unusually small heads and underdeveloped brains. While it can be caused by a number of factors, such as drug use during pregnancy and rubella, the sudden rise in microcephaly cases since last year has been mainly attributed to the mothers' exposure to the Zika virus. Endit