The researchers examined the
presence of any critical or noncritical congenital heart
defect detected in infants at
birth, comparing prevalence in those exposed and not exposed to preeclampsia.
The included
birth defects were based primarily on case reports
of outcomes occurring in association with Zika virus infection during pregnancy; there is more evidence for some
of these
birth defects than for others, and a causal link has not been established for all.5,10,12,21 - 27 Because much
of the focus to date has been on microcephaly and brain abnormalities, data were summarized in 2 mutually exclusive categories: (1) brain abnormalities with or without microcephaly regardless
of the
presence of additional
birth defects and (2) neural tube
defects and other early brain malformations, eye abnormalities, and other consequences
of central nervous system dysfunction among those without evident brain abnormalities or microcephaly.
This report describes the US Zika Pregnancy Registry (USZPR) and the proportion
of fetuses or infants with
birth defects potentially associated with maternal Zika virus infection among women in the USZPR and evaluates whether the proportion with
birth defects differs based on the
presence of maternal symptoms
of Zika virus infection or by trimester
of possible infection.