Mexico confirms first case of Zika-related birth defect

In this Jan. 27, 2016, file photo, samples of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, responsible for transmitting dengue and Zika, sit in a petri dish at the Fiocruz Institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. (Felipe Dana, File/AP Photo)

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's health ministry has confirmed the first case of a Zika-related severe birth defect known as microcephaly.

The ministry said in a statement Friday that the child was premature and died at birth. It was born to a 25-year-old woman from the southern state of Oaxaca on Nov. 5, 2016.

The ministry says it took several months to confirm the microcephaly, which is characterized by newborns with abnormally small heads, was related to Zika.

From November 2015 through the end of January, there have been 7,634 confirmed cases of Zika in Mexico, including 4,252 in pregnant women.

Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that has spread through Latin America and the Caribbean since 2015.