Introduction: The recent Zika virus(ZIKV) epidemic in Brazil was characterized by a range of different clinical presentations, particularly microcephaly, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and death. In this context, we determined the causal relationship between fatal microcephaly cases and ZIKV infection.
Methods: Twelve fatal cases of neonates, whose mothers were infected with ZIKV during pregnancy, were examined; cases included nine neonatal deaths due to microcephaly, one miscarriage, and two stillbirths.
Cytokine
November 2018
Zika virus (ZIKV) has caused substantial concern worldwide owing to its association with severe birth defects, such as microcephaly and other congenital malformations. Inflammasomes, i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2018
Zika virus (ZIKV) has recently caused a pandemic disease, and many cases of ZIKV infection in pregnant women resulted in abortion, stillbirth, deaths and congenital defects including microcephaly, which now has been proposed as ZIKV congenital syndrome. This study aimed to investigate the in situ immune response profile and mechanisms of neuronal cell damage in fatal Zika microcephaly cases. Brain tissue samples were collected from 15 cases, including 10 microcephalic ZIKV-positive neonates with fatal outcome and five neonatal control flavivirus-negative neonates that died due to other causes, but with preserved central nervous system (CNS) architecture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Zika virus (ZIKV) was first detected in Brazil in May 2015 and the country experienced an explosive epidemic. However, recent studies indicate that the introduction of ZIKV occurred in late 2013. Cases of microcephaly and deaths associated with ZIKV infection were identified in Brazil in November, 2015.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Virol
February 2016
Acute kidney injury is an unusual complication during dengue infection. The objective of this study was to better identify the characteristics of glomerular changes focusing on in situ immune cells and cytokines. An immunohistochemical assay was performed on 20 kidney specimens from fatal human cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuropathology
February 2016
Severe dengue disease is often associated with long-term neurological impairments, but it is unclear what mechanisms are associated with neurological sequelae. Previously, we demonstrated antibody-enhanced dengue disease (ADE) dengue in an immunocompetent mouse model with a dengue virus 2 (DENV2) antibody injection followed by DENV3 virus infection. Here we migrated this ADE model to Callithrix penicillata.
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