Microcephaly Prevalence in Infants Born to Zika Virus-Infected Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Int J Mol Sci

Institute for Maternal and Child Health, Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalization and Care (IRCCS) Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy.

Published: August 2017

Zika virus is an emergent flavivirus transmitted by genus mosquitoes that recently reached the Americas and was soon implicated in an increase of microcephaly incidence. The objective of the present study is to systematically review the published data and perform a meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of microcephaly in babies born to Zika virus-infected women during pregnancy. We searched PubMed and Cochrane databases, included cohort studies, and excluded case reports and case series publications. We extracted sample sizes and the number of microcephaly cases from eight studies, which permitted a calculation of prevalence rates that are pooled in a random-effects model meta-analysis. We estimated the prevalence of microcephaly of 2.3% (95% CI = 1.0-5.3%) among all pregnancies. Limitations include mixed samples of women infected at different pregnancy times, since it is known that infection at the first trimester is associated with higher risk to congenital anomalies. The estimates are deceptively low, given the devastating impact the infection causes over children and their families. We hope our study contributes to public health knowledge to fight Zika virus epidemics to protect mothers and their newborns.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5578104PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms18081714DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

born zika
8
zika virus-infected
8
virus-infected women
8
zika virus
8
prevalence microcephaly
8
microcephaly
5
microcephaly prevalence
4
prevalence infants
4
infants born
4
zika
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!