New England Journal of Medicine· 2016Q1
Zika Virus Associated with Microcephaly
- 2,931citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2016year
Short summary
Zika virus (ZIKV) was detected in the brain tissue of a fetus exhibiting severe microcephaly, agyria, hydrocephalus, and calcifications, confirming a link between ZIKV infection during pregnancy and devastating birth defects.
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Key points
- Zika virus (ZIKV) confirmed in fetal brain tissue of a microcephalic fetus.
- Fetal autopsy revealed severe brain abnormalities: micrencephaly, agyria, hydrocephalus, and calcifications.
- Complete ZIKV genome recovered from fetal brain, strengthening the causal link.
- Maternal infection occurred at the end of the first trimester, leading to severe fetal outcomes.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
A widespread epidemic of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection was reported in 2015 in South and Central America and the Caribbean. A major concern associated with this infection is the apparent increased incidence of microcephaly in fetuses born to mothers infected with ZIKV. In this report, we describe the case of an expectant mother who had a febrile illness with rash at the end of the first trimester of pregnancy while she was living in Brazil. Ultrasonography performed at 29 weeks of gestation revealed microcephaly with calcifications in the fetal brain and placenta. After the mother requested termination of the pregnancy, a fetal autopsy was performed. Micrencephaly (an abnormally small brain) was observed, with almost complete agyria, hydrocephalus, and multifocal dystrophic calcifications in the cortex and subcortical white matter, with associated cortical displacement and mild focal inflammation. ZIKV was found in the fetal brain tissue on reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assay, with consistent findings on electron microscopy. The complete genome of ZIKV was recovered from the fetal brain.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. New England Journal of Medicine, 2016 · DOI ↗
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Field: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational HealthMedicine