How to Use microcephaly in a Sentence

microcephaly

noun
  • There is no treatment for microcephaly that can return a child's head to a healthy size or shape.
    — Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 8 May 2018
  • Before Zika emerged, microcephaly was so rare that most states did not track it.
    — Ana B. Ibarra, Kaiser Health News, 2 May 2017
  • In microcephaly, the baby’s brain is much smaller than normal.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2019
  • The virus can result in microcephaly, a birth defect in which infants are born with abnormally small heads.
    — Andrew Edwards, Orange County Register, 19 June 2017
  • This is the first study to follow babies born with microcephaly from Zika infections over time.
    — Alexandra Sifferlin, Time, 14 Dec. 2017
  • One of those defects, microcephaly, causes babies to be born with skulls much smaller than expected.
    — Washington Post, 11 May 2017
  • Zika can cause microcephaly in babies infected while their mothers are pregnant.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2019
  • Conversely, a very small number of the children born without symptoms of microcephaly went on to develop it.
    — Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 8 July 2019
  • Zika is linked to a birth defect called microcephaly, a condition that leaves newborns with abnormally small heads.
    — Vidhi Doshi, Washington Post, 30 May 2017
  • Many infections, like rubella and HIV, can cause microcephaly.
    — Washington Post, 7 June 2018
  • Infection during pregnancy can cause birth defects, including microcephaly in which the baby is born with a small head.
    — Stephen Hudak, OrlandoSentinel.com, 24 May 2018
  • In mouse embryos, the S139N mutation caused more severe microcephaly and dead brain cells.
    — Pam Belluck and Donald G. McNeil Jr., New York Times, 28 Sep. 2017
  • Her excitement was tempered by fear that the baby might have contracted Zika, which can cause microcephaly and other birth defects.
    — Danielle Jackson, Longreads, 14 Dec. 2017
  • The most obvious and horrifying birth defect is microcephaly — a small head caused because of the damage the virus does to the developing brain.
    — Maggie Fox, NBC News, 23 May 2017
  • Abnormally small heads, called microcephaly, are the most attention-getting defect.
    — Lauran Neergaard, Philly.com, 9 July 2017
  • The most obvious and horrifying birth defect known to be caused by Zika infection is microcephaly.
    — Maggie Fox, NBC News, 8 June 2017
  • The surge in microcephaly in northeast Brazil in late 2015 was noticed by doctors in hospital neonatal units.
    — Pam Belluck and Donald G. McNeil Jr., New York Times, 28 Sep. 2017
  • The link between Zika and birth defects was first noticed because the infection can cause microcephaly, or an abnormally small head.
    — Lena H. Sun, The Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2017
  • Her nightmare has been realized by the four families in El Salvador raising babies with microcephaly.
    — National Geographic, 19 Oct. 2016
  • The virus wasn’t considered a major health crisis until 2015, when it was connected with microcephaly.
    — J. Weston Phippen, The Atlantic, 12 May 2017
  • Health officials have linked it to microcephaly, a neurological disorder that leads to babies being born with much smaller than normal heads.
    — Rose Minutaglio, PEOPLE.com, 3 July 2019
  • João Henrique, who has microcephaly, with his grandmother and grandfather in São José da Tapera.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 1 Nov. 2017
  • Zika virus infection during pregnancy appears to cause a range of birth defects, such as joint, eye and ear abnormalities, in addition to microcephaly.
    — Christine Herman, Scientific American, 3 Jan. 2017
  • Although the disease is mild in most cases, Zika is suspected in a spate of microcephaly, a rare and disabling condition in which babies are born with abnormally small heads.
    — National Geographic, 1 Feb. 2016
  • Like many children born to mothers infected with Zika while pregnant, Tamara had microcephaly — an underdeveloped brain.
    — Ari Daniel, NPR, 29 Nov. 2025
  • Researchers say pregnant women are especially at risk, noting that the virus may be responsible for a spike in cases of microcephaly, a condition in which newborns have unusually small heads and brains.
    — Jim Yardley, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2016
  • According to current estimates, 1 to 13 percent of Zika infections during the first trimester lead to microcephaly.
    — Jessica Wapner, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2017
  • The other child who improved, Nielsen-Saines said, was born with a moderate case of microcephaly and experienced developmental delays early on.
    — Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 8 July 2019
  • San Diego County has had 89 Zika cases, including one of microcephaly, and has joined a Zika screening program.
    — Bradley J. Fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, 24 May 2017
  • Melissa Vitória was born with microcephaly, the abnormally small head and brain that is the hallmark of Zika's devastating effect on a developing fetus.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 1 Nov. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'microcephaly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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