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Zika Virus Linked to Stillbirth, Other Symptoms in Brazil  http://bit.ly/24sqTxI

A pregnant Brazilian woman infected with the Zika virus had a stillborn baby in January who had signs of severe tissue swelling as well as central nervous system defects that caused the cerebral hemispheres of the brain to be absent. It is the first report to indicate a possible association of congenital Zika virus and damage to tissues outside the central nervous system.

Researchers led by Albert Ko, M.D. of the Yale School of Public Health and Dr. Antônio Raimundo de Almeida at the Hospital Geral Roberto Santos in Salvador, Brazil, describe the case in the current issue of the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Ko and colleagues said the case provides evidence that, in addition to microcephaly, (a condition marked by an abnormally small head in newborns and widely linked to the Zika outbreak in Brazil), congenital Zika infection may also be linked to hydrops fetalis (abnormal accumulation of fluid in fetal compartments), hydranencephaly (almost complete loss of brain tissue) and fetal demise (stillbirth).

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