2 pregnant Utah women who lost their babies had Zika

Two pregnant women in Utah have lost their babies in the first trimester after contracting Zika within the last five months, according to a new state health department report.

The report released this month by Utah’s department of health shows that since the beginning of last year, 11 pregnant women have contracted Zika in Utah.

Amy Steele, an epidemiologist at the department of health, says that eight of these pregnant women did not pass on the virus to their children, while the last woman left the state. The two that did pass on Zika, were pregnant when they contracted the virus.

The report shows that a total of 29 people have contracted Zika in Utah. The virus causes only a mild illness in most people, but infection during pregnancy has led to severe brain-related birth defects.