Case report: microcephaly associated with Zika virus infection, Colombia

Abstract

BackgroundRecently there has been a large outbreak of Zika virus infections in Colombia, South America. The epidemic began in September 2015 and continued to April 2017, for the total number of Zika cases reported of 107,870. For those confirmed Zika cases, there were nearly 20,000 (18.5%) suspected to be pregnant women, resulting in 157 confirmed cases of microcephaly in newborns reported by their health government agency. There is a clear under-estimation of the total number of cases and in addition no prior publications have been published to demonstrate the clinical aspects of the Zika infection in Colombia. We characterized one Zika presentation to be able to compare and contrast with other cases of Zika infection already reported in the literature.Case presentationIn this case report, we demonstrate congenital microcephaly at week 19 of gestation in a 34-year-old mother who showed symptoms compatible with Zika virus infection from Sincelejo, State of Sucre, in the Colombian Caribbean. Zika virus RNA was detected in the placenta using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). At week 25, the fetus weigh estimate was 770 g, had a cephalic perimeter of 20.2 cm (5th percentile), ventriculomegaly on the right side and dilatation of the fourth ventricle. At week 32, the microcephaly was confirmed with a cephalic perimeter of 22 cm, dilatation of the posterior atrium to 13 mm, an abnormally small cerebellum (29 mm), and an augmented cisterna magna. At birth (39 weeks by cesarean section), the head circumference was 27.5 cm, and computerized axial tomography (Siemens Corp, 32-slides) confirmed microcephaly with calcifications.ConclusionWe report a first case of maternal Zika virus infection associated with fetal microcephaly in Colombia and confirmed similar presentation to those observed previous in Brazil, 2015–2016.

Treatment of Human Glioblastoma with a Live Attenuated Zika Virus Vaccine Candidate

“…Like ZIKV, many flaviviruses, including dengue virus (DENV), yellow fever virus (YFV), West Nile virus (WNV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), are significant human pathogens. The recent epidemics of ZIKV in the Americas have caused a global public health emergency because of its unexpected causal link to microcephaly and other congenital diseases in fetuses from infected pregnant women ( 1 – 4 ). ZIKV preferentially infects neural progenitor cells (NPCs), causing cell death and reduced proliferation, which results in impaired brain development in the fetus ( 5 , 6 ).…”

Zika virus infection as a cause of congenital brain abnormalities and Guillain-Barré syndrome: A living systematic review

“…Traveller/non-traveller populations: In this update, we found further evidence that congenital abnormalities occurred in infants born to women travellers returning from ZIKV-affected areas and women remaining in those areas. In total, 25 publications report on 272 congenital abnormalities due to ZIKV infection in travellers 27, 29, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 42, 45, 56, 58, 61, 89, 94, 98, 109, 117, 122, 123, 137, 140, 151, 153, 166, 173 , with 109 publications reporting congenital abnormalities due to ZIKV in 2652 non travellers 24– 26, 28, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39– 41, 43, 44, 46– 48, 50, 51, 54, 57, 60, 62– 79, 81, 83– 85, 87, 88, 90– 93, 95– 97, 100, 101, 104– 106, 110– 113, 115, 116, 118, 119, 121, 124– 135, 142– 147, 149, 152, 154, 156– 164, 167, 168, 171, 172, 175– 180, 182, …”

Evolution of Two Major Zika Virus Lineages: Implications for Pathology, Immune Response, and Vaccine Development

“…From the confirmed 2015 cases, it took less than 1 year for the virus to spread throughout Brazil, into neighboring South American countries, and into Central and North America. The increase in GBS cases was reported in Brazil, Colombia, Suriname, and Venezuela and microcephaly cases in NE Brazil, which included neurological disorders and neonatal malformations ( 12 , 14 – 23 ). The remarkable rise of infants born with microcephaly in Brazil set off international alarms and garnered global attention ( 24 ).…”