British and Brazilian scientists say the world should prepare for an outbreak of microcephaly, because the zika virus spread to new countries.
According to their study carried out at the request of the Brazilian Ministry of Health and published in the Lancet of infectious disease, “it is now evident that the microcephaly epidemic is the result of congenital Zika virus infection “.
Add Zika virus to the list of congenital infections
The researchers therefore propose to add Zika to the list of congenital infections known to occur before or during childbirth. This list already includes toxoplasmosis, syphilis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, HIV and herpes.
“We must prepare for the epidemic of microcephaly to spread to all countries where cases of indigenous transmission are recorded but also to countries where transmission of the virus is likely to spread” insist the researchers.
To date, more than 1.5 million people have been infected with Zika virus, mainly in Brazil, and more than 1,600 babies have been born with microcephaly since last year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
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