Zika virus infection in pregnant women in a General Hospital of Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract

Objectives: To characterize the symptomatology of the patients affected by the Zika virus and to determine the incidence of congenital syndrome due to Zika in pregnant women in the city of Veracruz, Mexico.Methods: Descriptive, retrospective, and longitudinal study. All the patients in gestation period who attended the general hospital from 1 August to 30 November, 2016 and who met the criterion of suspected case of Zika virus infection. General symptoms and signs, gestational age, and search for fetopathies (ultrasound/fetometry at first contact) and finally incidence of Congenital Zika Syndrome at the end of gestation are analyzed.Results: A total of 103 pregnant women who met the definition of a suspected case of Zika virus infection were admitted to the study, 25 were positive for Zika by serum RT-PCR (24%). In the group of patients who tested positive for Zika by RT-PCR, all had conjunctivitis and arthralgia, followed by rash and pruritus. In this group, the headache was only reported in 84% and fever in 68%. No neonates with craniofacial or other malformations associated with congenital Zika syndrome, were reported.Conclusions: In this cohort, it is evident that the symptomatology presented by pregnant women during the first Zika outbreak in Mexico in 2016 is directly related to the proposed operational definition. There were no complications directly related to pregnancy during the acute virosis.