Zika virus may cause fetal dysplasia

Recent studies conducted by US and Brazilian scientists show that Zika virus may cause fetal dysplasia not only in newborns with microcephaly, hydrocephalus, and stillbirth, but also includes fetal brain calcification, insufficient placenta, and lack of amniotic fluid. Developmental delay, central nervous system damage and congenital blindness.

This research was published on the 4th in the New England Journal of Medicine. Philippine University of California Los Angeles and Fiocruz, a Brazilian biomedical research institute, conducted a follow-up study of 88 pregnant women in a clinic in Rio de Janeiro.

Of the 88 pregnant women, 72 were confirmed to have been infected with Zika virus, and 42 of them agreed to undergo an ultrasound examination. Among them, 12 pregnant women were found to have abnormal fetal development during the examination.

Of the eight pregnant women that have been produced, only two have developed normal fetal development. Two people have a stillbirth, two fetuses are underweight, one fetus has a visible microcephaly, and an eye dysfunction. It is very likely that there is congenital blindness, and one fetus was found to have relied on emergency cesarean section after the mother had no amniotic fluid. take out.

Karin Nielson, clinical pediatrics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, said: "We have found a strong association between Zika virus and fetal developmental abnormalities that have not yet been confirmed. Even if the fetus is not affected by the virus, the placenta seems to be affected. Damage, this can lead to stillbirth."

Nielsen said that most of these pregnant women are infected with Zika virus in the first 6 months of pregnancy. However, some of them are infected 3 months before the birth. Ultrasound examinations of pregnant women with 2 stillbirths in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy are performed. No abnormalities were found in the middle of the month.

The Zika virus was first discovered in Uganda in 1947 and has symptoms similar to dengue fever, including fever, rash, headache, joint pain, muscle pain, and non-suppurative conjunctivitis. Zika is not a fatal virus. About 80% of infected people have no obvious symptoms.

Since last year, the Zika virus has spread rapidly in the Americas. The virus has been reported in nearly 30 countries and regions in the region. Although scientists have not yet confirmed Zika as a direct cause of neonatal microcephaly, more than 640 cases of neonatal microcephaly have been diagnosed in Zika virus-ravaged Brazil, and another 4,200 suspected cases of microcephaly. Researchers suspect that most cases are related to the mother’s Zika virus infection.

The Yale University researchers published in the "Science Public Library/Neglected Tropical Diseases" magazine at the end of last month showed that the Zika virus may not only affect newborns with microcephaly, but also have water-free brain and stillbirth. While the medical personnel are paying attention to the microcephaly, they also need to be alert to the situation such as lack of water and stillbirth, which means that Zika infection may be more than known.