Annals of Internal Medicine
17 May 2016, Vol. 164. No. 10
http://annals.org/issue.aspx
Ideas and Opinions
Emergence of Congenital Zika Syndrome: Viewpoint From the Front Lines FREE
Federico Costa, PhD; Manoel Sarno, MD, PhD; Ricardo Khouri, PhD; Bruno de Paula Freitas, MD; Isadora Siqueira, MD, PhD; Guilherme S. Ribeiro, MD, PhD; Hugo C. Ribeiro, MD; Gubio S. Campos, PhD; Luiz C. Alcântara, PhD; Mitermayer G. Reis, MD, PhD; Scott C. Weaver, PhD; Nikos Vasilakis, PhD; Albert I. Ko, MD; and Antonio Raimundo Almeida, MD, PhD
[No abstract; Final text]
…Although recent advances in flavivirus vaccines may guide relatively rapid development of a Zika vaccine, availability is still probably years away. Treatment with a monoclonal antibody could also be developed quickly on the basis of promising past results with flaviviruses. However, systematic investigations of pregnant women and newborns will still be needed to determine the risk for transplacental infection and development of severe congenital sequelae that can, in turn, guide effective diagnostic and prevention efforts.