Brazil links dengue-like virus to birth defects in babies

Rio de Janeiro: The Brazilian government says the dengue-like Zika virus is connected to a surge of cases of babies born with small heads, a condition known as microcephaly, in the country's northeast.

The Health Ministry said that scientists found the presence of the virus in the blood of a baby born with birth defects in the state of Ceara. The girl died.

Researchers of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will arrive next week in response to a request by Brazil's government to study the link between the rare neurological condition and Zika.

Health officials believe pregnant women in their first trimester are more vulnerable.

In 2015, the ministry has reported 739 cases of babies born with microcephaly in the hardest-hit states, while last year the same region only reported 45.