Burden of disease due to microcephaly associated with the Zika virus in Colombia

Abstract

In 2015, the Zika virus was introduced in Colombia. The emergence of this arbovirus is a public health challenge for the country, considering the association between the infection and congenital disorders such as microcephaly. Thus, we estimated the burden of disease due to microcephaly associated with Zika in Colombia and its administrative subdivisions for the period 2015-2016. We conducted an exploratory ecological study, using as unit of measurement disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The cases of microcephaly were obtained from the Zika national and departmental databases built by the National Public Health Surveillance System (SIVIGILA). Deaths attributed to microcephaly were estimated from previous studies. Finally, we calculated mortality rates and incidences, then we performed a sensitivity analysis under three scenarios (conservative, medium, and extreme) to estimate the DALYs. In the 2015-2016 period, 10,609.4 DALYs were caused by microcephaly associated with Zika in Colombia. 71% of the total DALYs were years of life lost and 29% were years lived with disability. Five out of 32 departments (Meta, Córdoba, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, and Norte de Santander) contributed 71% of total DALYs. The burden of microcephaly associated with Zika outweighed the burden of other congenital anomalies such as neural tube defects and Down syndrome in children aged between 0 and 4 years in Colombia. Public health efforts must be made to prevent and monitor these cases.

Effects of public health emergencies of international concern on disease control: a systematic review

“…In Colombia, a record number of microcephaly cases per epidemiological week occurred during the Zika virus epidemic (29,30). Nationally, it was estimated that between 10 173.16 and 10 860.57 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were lost due to microcephaly caused by Zika-virus (31).…”

Síndrome de Miller Fisher tratado con plasmaféresis durante el embarazo: reporte de un caso y revisión de la literatura

“…El SGB es una entidad importante para el obstetra ya que el embarazo puede estar asociado a su aparición, además de estar asociado al virus del zika, infección viral que afectó a nuestra región en una epidemia en 2015 y 2016 17 , con especial repercusión en la salud perinatal 18 . Por tanto, el obstetra debe pensar en esta entidad y sus diferentes variantes que incluyen el SMF, ya que su manejo en la gestante puede requerir un equipo interdisciplinario.…”