Zika Infections Pose Significant Risks to Unborn Children

Approximately 30% of children exposed to the Zika virus before birth were diagnosed with neurological impairments or microcephaly during their first years of life.

Approximately 2.6% of children born to Zika-infected mothers had microcephaly at birth or when first assessed, rising to 4% across the early preschool years. 

The new research published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas is based on an analysis of 13 studies conducted from 2015 to 2017 in Brazil, providing the clearest evidence of the scale of the impact associated with Zika infection during an expecting mother's pregnancy.

"The findings underscore the continued need to develop a safe and effective vaccine for preventing Zika virus infections during pregnancy," said Dr. Elizabeth Brickley, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a co-author of the study.

"While gaps in population-level immunity to the virus persist, the threat of a Zika virus re-emergence remains a concern for public health," wrote GAVI on December 2, 2022.

In 2022, 31,453 Zika cases were reported in the Region of the Americas.

As of December 5, 2022, the U.S. FDA has not approved a Zika vaccine candidate.