Zika virus infected 2100 pregnant Colombians

More than 2,100 pregnant Colombians are infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus, CBC quoted the country's national health institute as saying on Saturday, as the disease continues its spread across the Americas.

The virus has been linked to the devastating birth defect microcephaly, which prevents fetus' brains from developing properly. There is no vaccine or treatment. There are 20,297 confirmed cases of the virus in Colombia, the national health institute said in an epidemiology bulletin, with 2,116 pregnant women among them.

There are so far no reported cases of microcephaly or deaths from the virus in Colombia. The institute said 37.2 per cent of pregnant women with Zika live in Norte de Santander province, along the eastern border with Venezuela.

Earlier figures from the health ministry showed 560 pregnant women had the virus, out of more than 13,500 infections.

Zika cases have been confirmed in 23 countries and territories in the Americas and scientists are racing to develop a vaccine for the virus.