Three cases of microcephaly linked to Zika virus has been detected in Bolivia.
Health authorities said on Wednesday that defects had been recorded in three births since September, which could be linked to Zika.
Aida Aguilera, the director of the public health service for the department of Santa Cruz, said a total of 127 cases of Zika had been registered in the eastern commercial center. She said of that figure, 57 were detected in pregnant women who had yet to give birth.
Another local official warned that Bolivia should accept Zika transmission and its related diseases as an endemic that could last for years.
“Zika is here to stay in Bolivia for a number of years,” said Roberto Torrez.
Bolivia announced the first local transmission of Zika in January. Authorities also issued a “red alert” in March, when officials reported a surge in cases in Santa Cruz.
Zika was first detected in Brazil last year and has swept much of Latin America.
The virus is responsible for microcephaly, a condition in which the size of the baby’s brain is abnormal.
The mosquito-borne virus, which can also be sexually transmitted, mainly affects children of infected mothers, but links have also been established between the virus and other debilitating neurological disorders in the adults, which prompted the World Health Organization to declare an international public health emergency in February.