CONCLUSION
Our study demonstrated that short-term adverse outcomes potentially related to ZIKV in infants born to ZIVK-infected symptomatic women are less frequent (2.5-6%) than previously thought. A strong relationship between the < 11 weeks gestational age of maternal infection and worse prognosis was demonstrated. Up to 10% of apparently asymptomatic infants during the first three months of life can exhibit neurological, cranial ultrasonography and or ophthalmologic abnormalities. This stresses the importance of using preventive measures in the early phases of pregnancy and set the basis for unstrained advice for pregnant women who acquire ZIKV infection after 11 weeks of gestation. Until results from controlled studies on the definition of medium and long-term prognosis for ZIKV-exposed fetuses are available, a thorough postnatal follow-up for these newborns is strongly recommended.
Acknowledgments : The authors are grateful to all members of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division of Ribeirão Preto’s Secretary of Health, especially Luzia Márcia Romanholi Passos, for their important contribution regarding prenatal data of ZIKV symptomatic pregnant patients. We acknowledge the support of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Laboratory technicians and the staff members of the Study Center on Maternal, Perinatal and Infant’s Infection from Ribeirão Preto Medical School (NEIMPI).
Disclosure of interests: All manuscript authors (C.M.C., S.F.B.M.N., D.C.A.A., S.R.T., F.R.A., M.C.R.M., J.D.C.P.F., M.S.F.M., B.V.M.N., C.A.C.T.C., A.R.T.A., J.M.F., A.A.T.B., A.Y.Y., G.D., M.M.M.P.) confirm that they don’t have any conflicts of interest to declare.
Contribution to authorship: C.M.C.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing. S.F.B.M.N.: Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. D.C.A.A.: Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. S.R.T.: Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. F.R.A.: Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. M.C.R.M.: Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. J.D.C.P.F.: Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. M.S.F.M.: Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. B.V.M.N.: Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. C.A.C.T.C.: Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. A.R.T.A.: Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. J.M.F.: Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. A.A.T.B.: Project administration, Writing – Review & Editing. A.Y.Y.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing – Review & Editing. G..: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing, Supervision. M.M.M-P.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.