NEW YORK (AP) — The number of pregnant women in the United States infected with Zika virus is suddenly tripling, due to a change in how the government is counting cases.
Previously, officials had reported how many pregnant women had both Zika symptoms and positive blood tests. In a change announced Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will count all women who tested positive — regardless of symptoms.
There are now 157 pregnant women infected with Zika in the 50 states, up from 48 last week.
9 of those cases are in Florida.
The agency had worried that one type of blood test is too prone to giving a false positive test result if a women was infected with a different but similar virus.
Zika can cause a birth defect called microcephaly and other brain abnormalities.
