Skip to main content

Table 1 Evidence for a causal link between ZIKV and microcephaly

From: The global threat of Zika virus to pregnancy: epidemiology, clinical perspectives, mechanisms, and impact

Epidemiological and clinical findings

 

Increase in microcephaly cases coincides with increase in ZIKV transmission (with a 6-month delay)

 

Data modeling shows that the main period at risk is the first trimester of pregnancy

 

Of the microcephaly cases investigated in Brazil, 32 % were linked to ZIKV

 

Case study: Miscarriage of a baby with microcephaly was positive for ZIKV (including in its brain), but negative for other known infectious causes of microcephaly

Laboratory studies

 

ZIKV can infect human neural progenitor cells and attenuate their growth in vitro

Primary human placental macrophages and trophoblasts are permissive to ZIKV infection in vitro

Animal models

 

Mouse model of ZIKV display signs of microcephaly

Analogy to related viruses

 

Rubella virus, another flavivirus, causes microcephaly when infection occurs during pregnancy

  1. Note: See text for further details and discussion of the evidence