DOH alerts doctors on Zika complications
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) has advised doctors to be on the lookout for other possible complications of the Zika virus among infants.
Health assistant secretary Eric Tayag said new medical findings showed that Zika can also cause hearing loss aside from microcephaly, a condition wherein the head of a baby is smaller than usual.
“We have alerted pediatricians that it is not enough to just check if the head of the infant is small because we have information that there are children whose heads are normal in size, but have abnormalities,” Tayag said.
He said pediatricians should conduct hearing tests on infants.
Tayag said the DOH is still collating data if there are Filipino children who suffered abnormalities due to the Zika virus.
The DOH has recorded 19 Zika cases, including a woman who is pregnant. The 22-year-old woman from Cebu City did not show “any fetal abnormalities” when subjected to ultrasound.
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