These Are The Heroes Looking Out For Brazil's Microcephaly Babies

RECIFE, Brazil ― This poverty-stricken city in the country’s northeast is ground zero for the Zika virus, and many mothers here have given birth to babies with microcephaly. As poor and often single women face a disease that can cause severe disabilities in their children, medical professionals and women’s rights activists have rallied to provide them with support and information. At the AACD physiotherapy unit, Dr. Ana Patrícia treats up to 15 children with microcephaly on any given day. And all the treatment is free for patients. Patrícia says that the center has seen an uptick in patients with microcephaly since March. One of these patients is 13-month-old José Bernardo Da Silva. His mother, Adriana, travels six hours from her home in Custodia, which is in the countryside of Pernambuco state, one of the poorest in Brazil. She makes the journey every week to the clinic, where medical staff members assess José to see what long-term care he will need. During this appointment, Patrícia treats his inability to hold up his neck and his poor hand-eye coordination, which is a typical disability for babies born with microcephaly. The therapy she is administering will “help him improve his neck control so he can keep his head up better, interact, continue playing with his mom.” “We use toys to stimulate him because when he looks at toys, he gets a lot of stimulation and he’s interested in interacting with the t...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news