Critical Care Obstetrics and Gynecology

Zika Virus and Perinatal Outcomes: Beyond the Myth

The World Health Organization defines current outbreak of Zika infection as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). An attempt was made to contribute in a comprehensive screening protocol for ZIKV in pregnancy, based on systematic assessment of the empirical data. A total of 34 published articles, conferring to the level I-IIA evidence, are randomly identified to inform clinical, immunology, imaging, and patho-histology findings from 8,389 singleton pregnancies. Results of a comparative analysis between the Zika-positive and Zikanegative pregnant women presented with macopapular rash suggest that active Zika virus infection is predictive to the adverse perinatal outcomes: prematurity, fetal growth restriction, microcephaly, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Temporal analysis between the viral peak lags, the first acute rash in women, and perinatal outcomes, support such associations.

Author(s):

Naira R Matevosyan

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