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 Microcephaly is a rare birth defect that has been linked, in Brazil
in particular, to the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which is spreading
in Southeast Asia.
Thai health authorities said on Tuesday they were investigating four
suspected cases of Zika-related microcephaly in three babies and a
36-week old unborn baby.
But on Wednesday, Apichai Mongkol, director-general of the
ministry's Department of Medical Sciences, said Zika had been ruled
out as the cause in two of the cases.
"The test results showed that two did not have the Zika virus but it
is still unclear with the other two because we found three
flavivirus which means it could be dengue, Zika or meningitis,"
Apichai told Reuters.
"To be sure which of the three they contracted we need to
investigate further."
There are no specific tests to determine if a baby will be born with
microcephaly but ultrasound scans in the third trimester of
pregnancy can identify the problem, according to the World Health
Organization (WHO).
It was not clear which of the four cases had been ruled out as
having a link to Zika.
Zika has been linked to more than 1,800 confirmed cases of
microcephaly in Brazil but there have been no confirmed cases of
Zika causing the condition in Southeast Asia, according to the WHO.
Microcephaly has several potential causes including various
infections, exposure to toxins and malnutrition, the WHO says.
Health authorities in Southeast Asia have reported a rising number
of Zika cases with Thailand confirming 349 since January, including
33 pregnant women. Singapore has recorded 393, including 16 pregnant
women.
The Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam have also reported Zika cases.
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Thailand's public health ministry said earlier the four suspected
microcephaly cases were not in Bangkok but it declined to say where
they were found.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority said on Wednesday officials had
confirmed 26 Zika cases in the city this month.
The director-general of the Disease Control Department, Amnuay
Gajeena, said out of 33 cases of pregnant women with Zika, eight had
given birth without complications.
There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika. An estimated 80 percent
of people infected have no symptoms, making it difficult for
pregnant women to know whether they have been infected.
Zika was first identified in Uganda in 1947 and was first isolated
in Asia in the 1960s. It was unknown in the Americas until 2014.
(Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Panarat Thepgumpant; Writing
by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing Robert Birsel)
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