STAT : reported that Can Zika virus infection attack the brains of newborns?

Their Guatemalan collaborators work at a nonprofit foundation in Coatepeque, in southwestern Guatemala, that runs a clinic for young children. Zika infection in the womb can damage a fetal brain. If it turns out that Zika infection in infancy is dangerous to developing brains, the current advice that pregnant women avoid traveling to places where Zika is spreading would likely be expanded to include young children as well. But can the insidious virus also attack the still-developing brains of newborns? A baby born to a woman infected during pregnancy appeared normal, although it had Zika virus in its blood at birth and for a couple of months afterwards.

Study to examine effects of Zika infection in infants and children

Most people with Zika virus infection have no symptoms or only a mild illness. In addition, a continuing University of Colorado surveillance study characterizing the incidence and pattern of dengue virus in children in the study area (southwestern Guatemala) has confirmed active Zika virus transmission and high Zika virus infection rates in children with fever. A large natural history study examining the neurologic, neurodevelopmental and other clinical outcomes of Zika virus infection in infants and young children has begun in rural Guatemala. For more information about NIAID's Zika virus research, please see the government's Zika web page. These observations indicate that Zika virus infection has the potential to affect early brain development, but the full spectrum of possible consequences is not yet known.

Study to examine effects of Zika infection in Guatemalan infants and children

Study to examine effects of Zika infection in Guatemalan infants and childrenNIH-funded study will characterize outcomes of infection acquired after birth. Most people with Zika virus infection have no symptoms or only a mild illness. For more information about NIAID's Zika virus research, please see our Zika web page. These observations indicate that Zika virus infection has the potential to affect early brain development, but the full spectrum of possible consequences is not yet known. In addition, a continuing University of Colorado surveillance study characterizing the incidence and pattern of dengue virus in children in the study area (southwestern Guatemala) has confirmed active Zika virus transmission and high Zika virus infection rates in children with fever.


collected by :Lucy William
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