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Zika: studies of brain malformations in babies started in late 2014
18 children or fetuses with malformations of the central nervous system have been identified between March 2014 and May 2015. There were two deaths, ten medical abortions, six children are living with neurological abnormalities of varying degree.
PAPEETE, December 3, 2015. Since the end of 2014, the Office of Polynesian health monitoring was conducting investigations into a possible correlation between severe brain damage in fetuses or newborns and Zika virus. When Brazil, where the currently prevailing Zika declared an epidemic of microcephaly in infants, this hypothesis was strengthened.
The suspicion of a link between severe brain malformations in fetuses or newborns and Zika virus "is very strong," said Dr. Henri-Pierre Mallet, head of the Health Surveillance Office. It will take, however, more studies for the international scientific community to confirm these assumptions. In French Polynesia, it was the pediatricians of the hospital Taaone who launched the alarm: usually such brain malformations in newborns occur here every 10 or 15 years, so when several cases have succeeded in a few months, research has been launched as well as the causes of medical interruption of pregnancies: there also cases of brain malformations, microcephaly appeared. There was in one year, 40 times more than normal brain malformations in newborns.
For now, the common cause of these 18 reported cases seems the coincidence with the first months of pregnancy of a mother's exposure to Zika virus during the epidemic that raged between September 2013 and end of April 2014. If Medical abortions were held to prevent mothers to give birth to children with severe disabilities, eight were brought to an end. Two of the infants died in the first months of their lives, six are alive and now aged one year to 18 months, three of them are microcephalic, the other three have a neurological dysfunction of the brain stem causing disorders swallowing. Those should be able to recover with age the vegetative functions.
In fenua, Zika is at priori no more a threat today. With nearly 70% of the population affected by the virus between 2013 and 2014, the risk of a new outbreak is not expected before 10 or 15 years. Unless this virus, mostly unknown until his appearance in French Polynesia, reveals other surprises with its global spread underway.
Doctor Henri-Pierre Mallet, head of the Health Surveillance Office at the Health Directorate
What effects seen exactly?
It is brain malformations that occur during pregnancy in the 1st or 2nd quarter who shall either severe microcephaly defects that become so small skulls because the brain is not properly formed below or defects lighter up another part of the brain, brain stem.
What put you on track?
The first cases investigated were extremely rare cases: there are two, then three, then four cases described. These are the pediatricians of the hospital that have alerted us. We have not made the connection with the Zika at first and then it appeared as a hypothesis that has strengthened. The last element that made us think that the link with the virus could be done, that is what is happening internationally. There are currently Zika epidemics in several countries in Latin America and especially in Brazil where Zika rife since the beginning of the year and unfortunately there is an epidemic of microcephaly among neonates.
With Zika were also cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, now these brain malformations, should we expect more discoveries?
Guillain-Barr? we saw that it was a complication after infection, an autoimmune reaction in adults, here, if these defects are confirmed it would be more direct infection of the virus in the fetus as other infections can occur as with rubella.
In French Polynesia, there were no deaths directly related to Zika, while in Brazil there would have been one or two deaths among millions of cases ...
Zika, a disease that knew little and proves ultimately dangerous?
Now things will probably change a little. When we declared our outbreak at the time, the international scientific community said "it's a small virus, it's no big deal, it will pass." And today everyone considers its potential danger, it will be closely monitored especially since the virus now threatens the French departments and territories of America, which will most likely be affected by Zika virus since the border Guyana.
Written by Mireille Loubet Thursday, December 3, 2015 at 13:10
http://www.tahiti-infos.com/Zika-le...z-des-bebes-ont-demarre-fin-2014_a141371.html
Zika: studies of brain malformations in babies started in late 2014
18 children or fetuses with malformations of the central nervous system have been identified between March 2014 and May 2015. There were two deaths, ten medical abortions, six children are living with neurological abnormalities of varying degree.
PAPEETE, December 3, 2015. Since the end of 2014, the Office of Polynesian health monitoring was conducting investigations into a possible correlation between severe brain damage in fetuses or newborns and Zika virus. When Brazil, where the currently prevailing Zika declared an epidemic of microcephaly in infants, this hypothesis was strengthened.
The suspicion of a link between severe brain malformations in fetuses or newborns and Zika virus "is very strong," said Dr. Henri-Pierre Mallet, head of the Health Surveillance Office. It will take, however, more studies for the international scientific community to confirm these assumptions. In French Polynesia, it was the pediatricians of the hospital Taaone who launched the alarm: usually such brain malformations in newborns occur here every 10 or 15 years, so when several cases have succeeded in a few months, research has been launched as well as the causes of medical interruption of pregnancies: there also cases of brain malformations, microcephaly appeared. There was in one year, 40 times more than normal brain malformations in newborns.
For now, the common cause of these 18 reported cases seems the coincidence with the first months of pregnancy of a mother's exposure to Zika virus during the epidemic that raged between September 2013 and end of April 2014. If Medical abortions were held to prevent mothers to give birth to children with severe disabilities, eight were brought to an end. Two of the infants died in the first months of their lives, six are alive and now aged one year to 18 months, three of them are microcephalic, the other three have a neurological dysfunction of the brain stem causing disorders swallowing. Those should be able to recover with age the vegetative functions.
In fenua, Zika is at priori no more a threat today. With nearly 70% of the population affected by the virus between 2013 and 2014, the risk of a new outbreak is not expected before 10 or 15 years. Unless this virus, mostly unknown until his appearance in French Polynesia, reveals other surprises with its global spread underway.
Doctor Henri-Pierre Mallet, head of the Health Surveillance Office at the Health Directorate
What effects seen exactly?
It is brain malformations that occur during pregnancy in the 1st or 2nd quarter who shall either severe microcephaly defects that become so small skulls because the brain is not properly formed below or defects lighter up another part of the brain, brain stem.
What put you on track?
The first cases investigated were extremely rare cases: there are two, then three, then four cases described. These are the pediatricians of the hospital that have alerted us. We have not made the connection with the Zika at first and then it appeared as a hypothesis that has strengthened. The last element that made us think that the link with the virus could be done, that is what is happening internationally. There are currently Zika epidemics in several countries in Latin America and especially in Brazil where Zika rife since the beginning of the year and unfortunately there is an epidemic of microcephaly among neonates.
With Zika were also cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, now these brain malformations, should we expect more discoveries?
Guillain-Barr? we saw that it was a complication after infection, an autoimmune reaction in adults, here, if these defects are confirmed it would be more direct infection of the virus in the fetus as other infections can occur as with rubella.
In French Polynesia, there were no deaths directly related to Zika, while in Brazil there would have been one or two deaths among millions of cases ...
Zika, a disease that knew little and proves ultimately dangerous?
Now things will probably change a little. When we declared our outbreak at the time, the international scientific community said "it's a small virus, it's no big deal, it will pass." And today everyone considers its potential danger, it will be closely monitored especially since the virus now threatens the French departments and territories of America, which will most likely be affected by Zika virus since the border Guyana.
Written by Mireille Loubet Thursday, December 3, 2015 at 13:10
http://www.tahiti-infos.com/Zika-le...z-des-bebes-ont-demarre-fin-2014_a141371.html