Zika Virus Infection in a Cohort of Pregnant Women with Exanthematic Disease in Manaus, Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

The epidemic transmission of Zika virus (ZIKV) in Brazil has been identified as a cause of microcephaly and other neurological malformations in the babies of ZIKV-infected women. The frequency of adverse outcomes of Zika virus infection (ZIKVi) in pregnancy differs depending on the characteristics of exposure to infection, the time of recruitment of research participants, and the outcomes to be observed. This study provides a descriptive analysis—from the onset of symptoms to delivery—of a cohort registered as having maternal ZIKVi in pregnancy, from November 2015 to December 2016. Suspected cases were registered at a referral center for infectious and tropical diseases in Manaus, in the Amazonian region of Brazil. Of 834 women notified, 762 women with confirmed pregnancies were enrolled. Reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed ZIKVi in 42.3% of the cohort. In 35.2% of the cohort, ZIKV was the sole infection identified. Severe adverse pregnancy outcomes (miscarriage, stillbirth, or microcephaly) were observed in both RT-PCR ZIKV-positive (5.0%) and ZIKV-negative (1.8%) cases (RR 3.1; 95% IC 1.4–7.3; p p < 0.001). Although other infectious rash diseases were observed in the pregnant women in the study, having confirmed maternal ZIKVi was the most important risk factor for serious adverse pregnancy events.

Keywords

• Amazonian region
• exanthematic disease in pregnancy
• TORCH Syndrome
• ZIKV infection
• miscarriage
• stillbirth