MRI series of the babies exposed to Zika virus while they are still in the womb as fetus reveals that they may have chances of developing abnormalities after birth. A study which is all set to be presented at the Paediatric Academic Societies meeting to be held next week in San Francisco was done to get the results regarding the exposure of Zika virus in the womb.
According to Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy of the University of Minnesota, fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was done of babies who were exposed to the Zika virus during the time of pregnancy. The results showed that there were abnormal findings in 3 babies out of 48 babies, revealing more insight into the innate impacts of the virus.
Another group of international scientists from Rockefeller University has identified an antibody which can act against Zika virus. This identification of the antibody can play a major role in developing treatments and vaccines for the virus and give a valid explanation for the reason that why some people were not included in the affected list during the recent outbreaks of the virus.
As alluded by the University of Utah, babies who are exposed to the Zika virus during the pregnancy time, they might look normal at the time of birth but afterward, they can develop brain defects or abnormalities. Of the 48 babies chosen for the review, all seemed sound and had moms with affirmed Zika disease in pregnancy.
Forty-six moms were Colombian, and two were Americans who got the sickness while venturing out to a Zika hot zone. The ladies experienced Zika manifestations at a mean gestational age of 8.4 weeks, and all had no less than one fetal ultrasound performed in pregnancy. Out of the 48 babies exposed to Zika virus, only 3 had abnormal MRI results.
One fetus had heterotopia and an abnormal fold on the brain surface. The second fetus has parietal encephalocele, which is a birth defect which causes the brain protruding from the skull. The last fetus which had abnormal brain findings included thin corpus callosum, heterotopias, significant ventriculomegaly and generalized atrophy. As per estimates from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 out of 10 babies who are born to Zika infected mothers will have complications from prenatal exposure to the Zika virus.
