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.