Abstract
The global epidemic of Zika virus has been a major public health problem affecting pregnant women and their infants. Zika virus causes a viral disease transmitted to humans mainly by the infected Aedes mosquito bite. The infection is not severe in most cases; however, there is evidence that infection during pregnancy may be associated with fetal genetic abnormalities (including microcephaly). In addition to microcephaly and other malformations, some specific lesions in the central nervous system have been reported. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the risk of developing microcephaly in infants whose mothers were infected with Zika virus in pregnancy. Epidemiological studies and case reports were incorporated in our review, finally including 15 articles from an initial pool of 355 related papers. Most studies have linked maternal infection during pregnancy to the development of neonatal microcephaly. The period considered most dangerous is the first trimester and the beginning or the whole of the second trimester. In order to understand the relationship between Zika virus and microcephaly in infants, a cohort study will be able to estimate the time from the onset of Zika infection and the full spectrum of adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Highlights
The purpose of the present study was to analyze all publicly available data to promote an informed discussion of trends in microcephaly cases in infants after mothers’ infection with Zika virus during pregnancy, in Brazil mainly and elsewhere
In the study of Magalhães et al, 2016 [21], which was carried out in Brazil, all available data support a causal relationship between the Zika virus and related microcephaly and (CNS)
The results showed that 15% of the patients with microcephaly was related to Zika virus infection
Summary
The purpose of the present study was to analyze all publicly available data to promote an informed discussion of trends in microcephaly cases in infants after mothers’ infection with Zika virus during pregnancy, in Brazil mainly and elsewhere. After Zika virus was first identified in 1947, from the blood of rhesus monkeys in the Zika forest in Uganda, there were few cases reported in humans. In 1952, the first human cases of Zika were detected and since outbreaks of Zika have been reported in tropical Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Southern America. Before 2007, at least 14 cases of Zika had been documented [1]. In 2015, the first case of Zika virus was diagnosed in Southern America linked to cases of microcephaly in infants with malformations and neurological disorders [2]
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