Miscarriages From Zika Outpaced Infants Born With Microcephaly

Zika related complications were observed when infection occurred during the first and second trimester
(Precision Vaccinations News)

When the Zika virus exploded in Brazil during 2015, hundreds of babies were born with severe brain damage and underdeveloped skulls.

This birth defect is known as microcephaly.

In 2015, the microcephaly prevalence in Brazil was 5.5 per 10,000 live births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

A new study in Sao Paulo, Brazil reported that Zika may be more likely to produce a miscarriage, than a case of microcephaly.

Dr. Benedito Fonseca, a professor of internal medicine at the School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto in Sao Paulo, told NPR,  “That Women who came down with Zika also appeared to be having miscarriages at a higher rate than normal but even that wasn't clear.”

The primary goal of this study was to detect infections in these women and to compare the pregnancy outcomes of women infected or not with Zika.

In this prospective study, a cohort of pregnant women admitted to the study, independently of their stage of pregnancy, was followed through the end of pregnancy.

Dr. Fonseca’s research team tracked the pregnancies of nearly 1,100 women in Sao Paulo. During their pregnancies, 178 of the women tested positive for Zika exposure.

Of these Zika positive women, 9 had miscarriages, while only 4 delivered infants with microcephaly.

Which means, there were more miscarriages than babies delivered with microcephaly.

Moreover, more miscarriages occurred when the Zika infection occurred in the first trimester of the pregnancy.

According to trimester segmentation, this study found that Zika-related complications were only observed when infection occurred in the first and second trimester.

Dr. Fonseca reported “The infections were so bad there was no way for the pregnancy to go on. Their own body just terminated the pregnancy due to the Zika infection."

This research was presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's annual convention in Baltimore.

The researchers did not disclose any conflicts of interest.

This research’s results are similar to a preceding study conducted in Columbia during 2016. 

Additionally, the CDC publishes completed pregnancies, liveborn infants with birth defects, and pregnancy losses with birth defects that have been associated with possible Zika virus infection.

 

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