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- Nearly one-third of children who have been exposed to the Zika virus in utero experienced developmental delays during their childhood.
- The virus can affect brain tissue and leave calcium deposits that can affect newborns after birth.
- The CDC reports that at least 20 Zika cases have been diagnosed this year in US states and territories.
Although the Zika virus does not cause abnormalities in the structure of the infant's head, it can still cause developmental delays. Nearly one-third of children with Zika had developmental delays and other problems, according to one
Dr. Karin Nielsen-Saines, lead author and specialist in infectious diseases in children at the University of California at Los Angeles, said her team had followed their mother's 216 children since their mother was pregnant and that they had been diagnosed with zika.
A small number of children born with microcephaly experienced an improvement in symptoms. In addition, a small number of children born without symptoms of microcephaly developed conbad disease. The researchers also found that children exposed to the virus had a higher rate of autism.
Nielsen-Saines said she was surprised to find that babies' appearance at birth did not necessarily predict what they would be in the coming years in terms of development, did she? she told Healthline.
"Certainly, the small number of children with severe conbad malformations will tend to behave badly, but some children with more subtle abnormal neurologic exams have had better-than-expected outcomes in terms of developing … d & # Others who seemed normal at birth or third year of life, "she said.
Exposure to the virus does not necessarily mean an infection, noted Nielsen-Saines. "All 216 exposed children in our cohort do not have a bad prognosis," she said.
About one-third of children had poor development or had hearing or hearing loss. About two-thirds of them were normal in terms of neurological development, she said.
"This is a condition we know very little about in terms of long-term follow-up. We know for sure that there is a risk of development problems. We must therefore monitor these children over time to see if they have no learning disabilities when they reach school age, if they have not no more risk of developing hearing problems. or any other neurological or neurodevelopmental condition, "she said.
Children who have been exposed to Zika virus infection, even if they are well and have no developmental delay, should continue to monitor their vision, hearing and development closely. said Dr. Sarah B. Mulkey, a neonatal fetal neurologist at Children's National in Washington, DC, who studied children with Zika and their mother.
"Early identification of a child with a developmental problem may allow special therapies or treatments to help improve the child's development as much as possible," added Mulkey.
The Zika virus is neurotropic and infects brain cells, explained Nielsen-Saines. It can infect neuro-progenitor cells and prevent cell development, and can induce calcium deposits in the brain and destroy brain tissue. It can also affect the optic nerve and the retina, as well as hearing.
"Thus, in its most severe forms, Zika can induce results consistent with cerebral palsy and, in this sense, it may resemble children with cerebral palsy for other reasons," said Nielsen-Saines.
Researchers are not yet sure of the mechanism that causes the most common and subtle forms of mild to moderate developmental delays.
"In the end, it's impossible to predict how all the children exposed to Zika will manage in the future," she added.
Nielsen-Saine plans to study affected children in the future.
Micaela Martinez, PhD, an infectious disease ecologist at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, says there is not enough data to confirm the long-term consequences of Zika until patients are studied.
"We only know what happens two … three years later," Martinez told Healthline. "There could be things that appear in adolescence later in life. We will discover things decades later. "
Nathan Grubaugh, Ph.D., whose laboratory at the Yale School of Public Health detects viruses, including the Zika virus, says it's a small study with no adequate control group. For example, Grubaugh would have liked the study to contain data on the normal rate of children in Rio de Janeiro having developmental problems, especially children from poor families with greater risk of being ill. 39 to be exposed.
Instead of the numbers, he would like people to focus on the fact that exposure to the Zika virus during pregnancy can cause long-term developmental problems in some children.
All gestation periods may be sensitive to the effects of conbad viruses. They are not at risk only in early pregnancy; It's just when they are the most vulnerable, Martinez said.
"Unfortunately, the Zika virus has found a way to overcome our innate obstacles to stopping development," Grubaugh added. "This is perhaps one of the greatest challenges of our generation in infectious diseases."
Zika virus infection can have long-term consequences on the brain, added Alysson R. Muotri, PhD, professor at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. He has been working on a drug that blocks viral replication and vertical transmission, but has not been tested in pregnant women.
There are still travel guidelines for Zika. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that pregnant women discuss potential risks with their doctor if they travel to an area that has already been affected by the Zika virus.
The CDC monitors potential cases around the world. Some countries, including the United States, have had outbreaks of Zika only in a few selected areas. This does not mean that the whole country is dangerous to visit. Currently, according to the CDC map, there is no current appearance of the virus.
But experts say the virus has not gone away for good.
"It has not disappeared. Zika's cases are still ongoing, "Martinez said, noting that women in the continental United States are still contracting the virus.
The CDC reports that there has been at least
"People should always be vigilant to protect themselves from mosquitoes because the threat is not gone," Grubaugh added.
"Now that Zika has largely escaped the attention of the media, it's easy to badume that there is no risk. However, it is likely that Zika transmission will continue, "said Dr. Denise J. Jamieson, a professor in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the University School of Medicine. Emory, at Healthline. She led the CDC's response to Zika in 2016 and 2017.
Among the positive news, there are clinical trials to better understand the virus and the search for a potential vaccine. Some experts think, however, that it could take years.
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