Contracted through the bite of an infected mosquito or through sexual or other modes of transmission, Zika virus (ZIKV) infection can be prenatally passed from mother to fetus.1 The virus was first identified in the region of the Americas in early 2015, when local transmission was reported in Brazil.2 Six months later, a notable increase in the number of
infants with congenital microcephaly was observed in northeast Brazil.3, 4 Clinical, epidemiologic, and
laboratory evidence led investigators to conclude that intrauterine ZIKV infection was a cause of microcephaly and serious brain anomalies.5 - 7 However, as with other newly recognized teratogens, these features likely represent a portion of a broader spectrum.
Results Among 442 completed pregnancies in women (median age, 28 years; range, 15 - 50 years) with
laboratory evidence of possible recent Zika virus infection, birth defects potentially related to Zika virus were identified in 26 (6 %; 95 % CI, 4 % -8 %) fetuses or
infants.