Studies have confirmed that the Zika virus delays neurodevelopment in children

researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported neurodevelopmental development in 216 babies born to pregnant women infected with the Zika virus during the 2015-2016 Zika virus pandemic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The paper was published July 8 in Nature-Medicine.
, rashes, joint pain and other dengue-like symptoms may occur in people infected with the Zika virus. The vast majority of people infected with Zika have mild symptoms, but infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women can damage the fetus' brain, leading to neonatal neurological problems and other neurological lesions.
the Zika virus epidemic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from September 2015 to June 2016, researchers recruited 244 pregnant women who tested positive for the virus. Statistics show that of the 223 fetal survival cases, the premature birth rate was 13% and 10 cases (4.6%) had a smaller gnatal age. Eight of the 216 infants followed were diagnosed with microcephaly.
the team used the Bailey Infant Development Scale (third edition) to conduct cognitive, linguistic and motor assessments on 146 of them, as well as neurodevelopmental questionnaires and neurology tests on the remaining 70 children. The researchers performed a complete vision test and hearing assessment on the children. The results showed that 31.5% of children between 7 and 32 months of age had below-average neurodevelopment and abnormal vision or hearing assessment;
say the effects of the Zika virus on children's neurodevelopment have been confirmed by animal studies. Studies have shown that mice infected with the Zika virus have abnormal neurological function and symptoms such as autism. Similar to the children in the study, the visual cortical function and circuit tissue in mice were significantly impaired after infection with the Asian strain of the Zika virus. However, early intervention may improve the neurodevelopmental trajectory of fetuses exposed to the Zika virus in the womb, but further research is needed. (Source: Tang Feng, China Science Journal)
relevant paper information: