Zika virus and birth defects - Reviewing the evidence for causality

New England Journal of Medicine

Volumn 374, Issue 20, 2016, Pages 1981-1987

  Rasmussen, Sonja A ^a,d   Jamieson, Denise J ^b   Honein, Margaret A ^c   Petersen, Lyle R ^d,e  

^a Center for Surveillance   (United States)

^b NATIONAL CENTER FOR CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION   (United States)

^c NATIONAL CENTER ON BIRTH DEFECTS AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES   (United States)

^d CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION   (United States)

^e NATIONAL CENTER FOR EMERGING AND ZOONOTIC INFECTIOUS DISEASES   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ZIKA VIRUS VACCINE;

ADVERSE OUTCOME; ARTICLE; BRAIN MALFORMATION; BRAZIL; CONGENITAL INFECTION; CONGENITAL MALFORMATION; DISEASE ASSOCIATION; EPIDEMIC; EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE; FETUS DEATH; FETUS ECHOGRAPHY; FETUS MALFORMATION; GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION; GROWTH DISORDER; HUMAN; INFECTION PREVENTION; INTRAUTERINE INFECTION; LABORATORY TEST; MICROCEPHALY; MOSQUITO BITE; NONHUMAN; PRACTICE GUIDELINE; PREGNANCY OUTCOME; PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT; PRENATAL GROWTH; PREVALENCE; PRIORITY JOURNAL; SEROLOGY; TERATOGENICITY; UNITED STATES; VIRUS IDENTIFICATION; VIRUS TRANSMISSION; ZIKA FEVER; ZIKA VIRUS; COMPLICATION; EPIDEMIOLOGY; VIROLOGY;

BRAZIL; CAUSALITY; HUMANS; MICROCEPHALY; ZIKA VIRUS; ZIKA VIRUS INFECTION;

EID: 84964276686     PISSN: 00284793     EISSN: 15334406     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsr1604338     Document Type: Article

References (44)

1. Kleber de Oliveira W, Cortez-Escalante J, De Oliveira WT, et al. Increase in reported prevalence of microcephaly in infants born to women living in areas with confirmed Zika virus transmission during the first trimester of pregnancy - Brazil, 2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:242-7.
2. Cauchemez S, Besnard M, Bompard P, et al. Association between Zika virus and microcephaly in French Polynesia, 2013- 15: a retrospective study. Lancet 2016 March 15 (Epub ahead of print).
3. Petersen LR, Jamieson DJ, Powers AM, Honein MA. Zika virus. N Engl J Med 2016;374:1552-63.
4. O'Leary DR, Kuhn S, Kniss KL, et al. Birth outcomes following West Nile Virus infection of pregnant women in the United States: 2003-2004. Pediatrics 2006;117(3):e537-45.
5. Duffy MR, Chen T-H, Hancock WT, et al. Zika virus outbreak on Yap Island, Federated States of Micronesia. N Engl J Med 2009;360:2536-43.
6. Ioos S, Mallet HP, Leparc Goffart I, Gauthier V, Cardoso T, Herida M. Current Zika virus epidemiology and recent epidemics. Med Mal Infect 2014;44:302-7.
7. Chang C, Ortiz K, Ansari A, Gershwin ME. The Zika outbreak of the 21st century. J Autoimmun 2016;68:1-13.
8. Associated Press -NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The Zika virus: Americans' awareness and opinions of the U.S. response. April 2016 (http://www.apnorc.org/PDFs/Zika/2016-04%20Zika%20Virus%20Issue%20Brief%20DTPB-v1r5.pdf
9. Shepard TH. "Proof" of human teratogenicity. Teratology 1994;50:97-8.
10. Carey JC, Martinez L, Balken E, Leen-Mitchell M, Robertson J. Determination of human teratogenicity by the astute clinician method: review of illustrative agents and a proposal of guidelines. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol 2009;85:63-8.
11. Webster WS. Teratogen update: congenital rubella. Teratology 1998;58:13-23.
12. Jones KL, Smith DW. Recognition of the fetal alcohol syndrome in early infancy. Lancet 1973;302:999-1001.
13. Lammer EJ, Sever LE, Oakley GP Jr. Teratogen update: valproic acid. Teratology 1987;35:465-73.
14. Brasil P, Pereira JP Jr, Raja Gabaglia C, et al. Zika virus infection in pregnant women in Rio de Janeiro - preliminary report. N Engl J Med. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1602412.
15. Calvet G, Aguiar RS, Melo AS, et al. Detection and sequencing of Zika virus from amniotic fluid of fetuses with microcephaly in Brazil: a case study. Lancet Infect Dis 2016 February 17 (Epub ahead of print).
16. Driggers RW, Ho CY, Korhonen EM, et al. Zika virus infection with prolonged maternal viremia and fetal brain abnormalities. N Engl J Med. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1601824.
17. Martines RB, Bhatnagar J, Keating MK, et al. Notes from the field: evidence of Zika virus infection in brain and placental tissues from two congenitally infected newborns and two fetal losses - Brazil, 2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:159-60.
18. Meaney-Delman D, Hills SL, Williams C, et al. Zika virus infection among U.S. pregnant travelers - August 2015-February 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:211-4.
19. Mlakar J, Korva M, Tul N, et al. Zika virus associated with microcephaly. N Engl J Med 2016;374:951-8.
20. Schuler-Faccini L, Ribeiro EM, Feitosa IM, et al. Possible association between Zika virus infection and microcephaly - Brazil, 2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:59-62.
21. Ventura CV, Maia M, Bravo-Filho V, Góis AL, Belfort R Jr. Zika virus in Brazil and macular atrophy in a child with microcephaly. Lancet 2016;387:228.
22. Miranda-Filho Dde B, Martelli CM, Ximenes RA, et al. Initial description of the presumed congenital Zika syndrome. Am J Public Health 2016;106:598-600.
23. Oliveira Melo AS, Malinger G, Ximenes R, Szejnfeld PO, Alves Sampaio S, Bispo de Filippis AM. Zika virus intrauterine infection causes fetal brain abnormality and microcephaly: tip of the iceberg? Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2016;47:6-7.
24. Corona-Rivera JR, Corona-Rivera E, Romero-Velarde E, Hernández-Rocha J, Bobadilla-Morales L, Corona-Rivera A. Report and review of the fetal brain disruption sequence. Eur J Pediatr 2001;160:664-7.
25. National Birth Defects Prevention Network. Major birth defects data from population-based birth defects surveillance programs in the United States, 2006- 2010. August 2013 (http://www.nbdpn.org/docs/DataDirectory2013-NBDPN-AR.pdf).
26. Bale JF Jr. Fetal infections and brain development. Clin Perinatol 2009;36:639-53.
27. Dick GW. Zika virus. II. Pathogenicity and physical properties. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1952;46:521-34.
28. Bell TM, Field EJ, Narang HK. Zika virus infection of the central nervous system of mice. Arch Gesamte Virusforsch 1971;35:183-93.
29. Tang H, Hammack C, Ogden SC, et al. Zika virus infects human cortical neural progenitors and attenuates their growth. Cell Stem Cell 2016 March 4 (Epub ahead of print).
30. Public Affairs Committee of the Teratology Society. Causation in teratology-related litigation. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol 2005;73:421-3.
31. Teixeira MG, da Conceição N Costa M, de Oliveira WK, Nunes ML, Rodrigues LC. The epidemic of Zika virus-related microcephaly in Brazil: detection, control, etiology, and future scenarios. Am J Public Health 2016;106:601-5.
32. Reefhuis J, Gilboa SM, Johansson MA, et al. Projecting month of birth for at-risk infants after Zika virus disease outbreaks. Emerg Infect Dis (in press).
33. Mitchell AA. Proton-pump inhibitors and birth defects - some reassurance, but more needed. N Engl J Med 2010;363:2161-3.
34. Costa F, Sarno M, Khouri R, et al. Emergence of congenital Zika syndrome: viewpoint from the front lines. Ann Intern Med 2016 February 24 (Epub ahead of print).
35. Chan JF, Choi GK, Yip CC, Cheng VC, Yuen KY. Zika fever and congenital Zika syndrome: an unexpected emerging arboviral disease. J Infect 2016 March 3 (Epub ahead of print).
36. Abuelo D. Microcephaly syndromes. Semin Pediatr Neurol 2007;?14:?118-27.
37. Byrd AL, Segre JA. Infectious disease: adapting Koch's postulates. Science 2016;351:224-6.
38. Fredricks DN, Relman DA. Sequence-based identification of microbial pathogens: a reconsideration of Koch's postulates. Clin Microbiol Rev 1996;9:18-33.
39. Williams JV. Déjà vu all over again: Koch's postulates and virology in the 21st century. J Infect Dis 2010;201:1611-4.
40. Hill AB. The environment and disease: association or causation? Proc R Soc Med 1965;58:295-300.
41. Frank C, Faber M, Stark K. Causal or not: applying the Bradford Hill aspects of evidence to the association between Zika virus and microcephaly. EMBO Mol Med 2016 March 14 (Epub ahead of print).
42. Instituto Nacional de Salud. Boletin Epidemiologico Semanal. April 2016 (http://www.ins.gov.co/boletin-epidemiologico/Boletn%20Epidemiolgico/2016%20Boletín%20epidemiológico%20semana%2012.pdf
43. Hubálek Z, Rudolf I, Nowotny N. Arborviruses pathogenic for domestic and wild animals. Adv Virus Res 2014;89:201-75.
44. Palacios R, Poland GA, Kalil J. Another emerging arbovirus, another emerging vaccine: targeting Zika virus. Vaccine 2016 March 23 (Epub ahead of print).