Unintended Pregnancies in Brazil – A Challenge for the Recommendation to Delay Pregnancy Due to Zika

Unintended pregnancies in Brazil – A challenge for the recommendation to delay pregnancy due to Zika The World Health Organization has recently declared the emerging Zika virus an international public health emergency1. The virus, which reached Brazil to cause a major epidemic starting in April 2015, has rapidly spread to over 28 countries2 and may still reach many more considering the widespread distribution of its vector species (Aedes aegypti mosquitoes) and the high transmission rates observed so far. Concerns also involve the possibility of a second vector of Zika transmission, Aedes albopictus, which is currently expanding its ecological niche globally 3,4 . However, the biggest concern about the Zika outbreak is the potential link with the surge of reported cases of microcephaly and other malformations of the central nervous system in newborns from mothers infected with the virus during pregnancy1. The proposed link between Zika infection and congenital microcephaly is not conclusive1,5, but given the long-term consequences of this birth defect (which can range from mild developmental delays to severe, lifelong motor and cognitive impairment), a number of Officials in Latin America have recommended that women avoid or defer pregnancy, giving time for the epidemic to subside and therapies to develop6. Among these were representatives of the Health Ministries of Ecuador, Colombia, Jamaica and El Salvador. In Brazil the recommendation to postpone pregnancy has n...
Source: PLOS Currents Outbreaks - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Source Type: research