The Brazilian team of researchers studied the available medical records of 70 infants diagnosed with microcephaly (a smaller than normal head), nearly certainly caused by their confirmed congenital Zika infection.
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But researchers in Brazil wanted to track the prevalence of hearing loss among newborns with Zika-related microcephaly.
And the authors warn that other children who were infected with the virus in their mothers’ wombs may be born with or may develop hearing problems, even if they do not have visible physical birth defects.
The laundry list of health problems associated with Zika infection in the womb continues to expand, according to new research published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the study Tuesday, saying that out of almost 70 children infected with the virus, four had hearing loss that appeared to be unconnected with any other health issue.
In that study, the researchers examined medical scans and autopsy results from 17 fetuses and newborns in Brazil confirmed to have Zika infection and 28 fetuses and newborns suspected to have Zika infection.
“It is possible that the full spectrum of congenital Zika virus infection includes children without microcephaly but with auditory deficits, as occurs with congenital rubella and CMV infections, in which children born with no apparent structural anomaly can be found to have hearing loss at birth or later in life”, they wrote. Other viruses known to cause hearing loss in babies can be delayed, with hearing loss getting worse over time. As of mid-August, 17 babies infected in utero had been diagnosed with microcephaly, a condition defined by an abnormally small head and often serious brain damage. Recently, researchers have also linked Zika to “vision problems and joint deformities”, Reuters reported.
Dr. Margaret Honein is an epidemiologist at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, the danger of mosquito-borne Zika infection for pregnant American women became more imminent this month, with two neighborhoods in the Miami area reporting cases of locally acquired infection.
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This Q & A will tell you what you need to know about Zika.
