First cases of Zika-related microcephaly reported in Southeast Asia

Health officials in Thailand announced Friday that two babies have tested positive for Zika-related microcephaly, the birth defect that causes abnormally small heads and malformed brains. Though Thailand has confirmed 349 cases of the mosquito-borne illness since January — with 33 of those cases in pregnant women — this marks the first time cases of microcephaly tied to Zika have been reported in Southeast Asia.

Thailand's announcement came just a day after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised pregnant women against non-essential travel to 11 Southeast Asian countries, including Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam. The CDC has already issued a "travel notice" for Singapore, where 393 cases of Zika have been recorded.

U.S. officials have determined that if women contract the Zika virus while pregnant, it can cause microcephaly and potentially other birth defects in their babies. At this point, there is no treatment for Zika. On Wednesday, U.S. lawmakers passed a spending bill that allotted $1.1 billion to the fight against the Zika virus.

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