Risk of Zika virus-associated birth defects in congenital confirmed cases in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Objective. To establish the risk of microcephaly in neonates born to women infected with ZIKV during pregnancy. Methods. A cohort of laboratory-confirmed ZIKV cases of congenital infections (109 mothers infected during pregnancy and 101 newborns) among 308 suspect cases was followed in Belem, Pará, Brazil, from October 2015 to December 2017. Results. A microcephaly risk of 1.98% (95% CI 0.54-6.93%) was found, or 2 cases among the 101 neonates infected with ZIKV during pregnancy. 72% of the pregnant women had ZIKV infection confirmed by RT-qPCR during gestation. Conclusions. Results showed a low incidence of ZIKV-associated birth defects, stillbirth, and miscarriage, which contrasts with previous studies in other Brazilian regions. Previous exposure to yellow fever vaccine and/ or multiserotype DENV infection could be implicated in the protection from ZIKV congenital infection.

Epidemiologic characterization of cases of arbovirosis transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes reported in indigenous Brazilians

“…In addition, the authors suggest that the protective effect against ZIKV induced by multiple prior DENV infections could prevent congenital Zika syndrome (PEDROSO et al, 2019;OLIVEIRA et al, 2020). This information is useful for clinical health practice, as this study identified a reasonable number of pregnant natives who were separately infected with dengue, Zika, and chikungunya.…”

Still on the Brazilian Response to the Microcephaly Epidemic: A Meta-analysis of 1,548 Pregnant Women from 13 Cohorts to Evaluate the Risk of Adverse Outcomes

“… 5 The follow-up of cohorts of pregnant women allowed estimating the risk for microcephaly, abnormalities of the Central Nervous System (CNS) diagnosed by imaging, ophthalmologic and audiologic alterations and other birth defects in children born to Zika virus-infected mothers during pregnancy. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Although cohort studies have shown similar risks of microcephaly, estimates of the risk of other manifestations were diverse, indicating the need to use other analysis strategies with more robust estimates, such as meta-analysis.…”

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“…5 The follow-up of cohorts of pregnant women allowed estimating the risk for microcephaly, abnormalities of the Central Nervous System (CNS) diagnosed by imaging, ophthalmologic and audiologic alterations and other birth defects in children born to Zika virus-infected mothers during pregnancy. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Although cohort studies have shown similar risks of microcephaly, estimates of the risk of other manifestations were diverse, indicating the need to use other analysis strategies with more robust estimates, such as meta-analysis.…”