Unequal burden of Zika-associated microcephaly among populations with public and private healthcare in Salvador, Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the differences in clinical presentation and relative disease burden of congenital Zika syndrome (CZS)-associated microcephaly at 2 large hospitals in Salvador, Brazil that serve patients of different socioeconomic status (SES). METHODS: Clinical and serologic data were collected prospectively from pregnant women and their infants, who delivered at 2 study centers during the 2015-2016 Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic in Salvador, Brazil. RESULTS: Pregnant women from Salvador, Brazil delivering in a low SES hospital had 3 times higher ZIKV exposure rate than women at a high SES hospital. However, different SES hospitals had similar prevalence of infants with CZS-associated microcephaly (10% vs 6%, p = 0.16) after controlling for ZIKV exposure in their mothers. CONCLUSIONS: Our study supports the positive association between low SES, high maternal ZIKV exposure, and high rates of CZS-associated microcephaly.

Risk of Zika microcephaly correlates with features of maternal antibodies.

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy causes congenital abnormalities, including microcephaly. However, rates vary widely, and the contributing risk factors remain unclear. We examined the serum antibody response to ZIKV and other flaviviruses in Brazilian women giving birth during the 2015-2016 outbreak. Infected pregnancies with intermediate or higher ZIKV antibody enhancement titers were at increased risk to give birth to microcephalic infants compared with those with lower titers (P < 0.0001). Similarly, analysis of ZIKV-infected pregnant macaques revealed that fetal brain damage was more frequent in mothers with higher enhancement titers. Thus, features of the maternal antibodies are associated with and may contribute to the genesis of ZIKV-associated microcephaly.

Zika Virus Infection and Stillbirths: A Case of Hydrops Fetalis, Hydranencephaly and Fetal Demise.

BACKGROUND: The rapid spread of Zika virus in the Americas and current outbreak of microcephaly in Brazil has raised attention to the possible deleterious effects that the virus may have on fetuses. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We report a case of a 20-year-old pregnant woman who was referred to our service after a large Zika virus outbreak in the city of Salvador, Brazil with an ultrasound examination that showed intrauterine growth retardation of the fetus at the 18th gestational week. Ultrasound examinations in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters demonstrated severe microcephaly, hydranencephaly, intracranial calcifications and destructive lesions of posterior fossa, in addition to hydrothorax, ascites and subcutaneous edema. An induced labor was performed at the 32nd gestational week due to fetal demise and delivered a female fetus. ZIKV-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction amplification products were obtained from extracts of cerebral cortex, medulla oblongata and cerebrospinal and amniotic fluid, while extracts of heart, lung, liver, vitreous body of the eye and placenta did not yield detectable products. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This case report provides evidence that in addition to microcephaly, there may be a link between Zika virus infection and hydrops fetalis and fetal demise. Given the recent spread of the virus, systematic investigation of spontaneous abortions and stillbirths may be warranted to evaluate the risk that ZIKV infection imparts on these outcomes.