Cases of babies with microcephaly climbs to 21 in Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The number of cases of newborn babies with microcephaly, the abnormal smallness of the head, due to the Zika virus has risen to 21 in Honduras since December, health authorities said Wednesday.

Miguel Osorio, spokesperson for the University Training Hospital in Tegucigalpa, announced that three babies were born with microcephaly in the last three days in the southern city of Choluteca and the central city of Comayagua.

At least 493 women had suffered from Zika during their pregnancies this year, Osorio said in a statement.

Furthermore, 114 patients have been diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome during that time, also linked to Zika, among them three have died.

The areas most severely affected by Zika are Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Choloma, Puerto Cortes and Villanueva in the north, Choluteca in the south, Juticalpa and Danli in the southeast and El Paraiso in the east.