Microcephaly in Piauí, Brazil: descriptive study during the Zika virus epidemic, 2015-2016.

Objective: to describe the occurrence and characteristics of microcephaly cases in Piauí, Brazil, during an epidemic of Zika virus infection in 2015-2016.

Methods: descriptive study using data of live births from January/2015 to January/2016, obtained from the Information System on Live Births (Sinasc), the Public Health Events Registry (RESP) and the active search for medical records; mothers and live births were tested for dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, besides syphilis, toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, and herpes (STORCH).

Results: of the 75 microcephaly cases, 34 were related to congenital infectious process; microcephaly prevalence was of 13.