Prenatal Zika delays neurodevelopment in kids

Infants of mothers with Zika virus infection suffer from various neurodevelopmental sequelae during childhood, particularly in terms of language, a new study reveals.

The study included 114 children born to mothers with confirmed or probably Zika virus infections during pregnancy. Study visits lasted from May 2017 to February 2020, during which children underwent physical/neurological, sensory, and neurodevelopmental assessments using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-III) and Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3).

At birth, three infants had microcephaly, three had abnormal hearing screenings, 19 had retinal imaging abnormalities, 11 had nonspecific brain ultrasound findings, and seven had neuromotor abnormalities.

Through ages 6 through 36 months, BSID-III and ASQ-3 showed high levels of developmental delays and risk. For instance, 24.5 percent were cognitively delayed at 24 months, which decreased to 10.6 percent at 36 months. Language delays were common, which were present in 50.9 percent and 31.9 percent at 24 and 36 months, respectively (p<0.001 for both)

Motor delays, in contrast, increased in prevalence from 21.2 percent at 24 months to 27.7 percent at 36 months (p<0.001).

Developmental risk was also common, peaking at around 24 months of age. Communication delay risk jumped from 1.6 percent at 6 months to 45.3 percent at 24 months, easing slightly to 36.9 percent by month 36. Similar patterns were reported for gross and fine motor and personal-social delay risk.

Meanwhile, risk for delays in problem-solving development increased progressively with age, peaking at 67.4 percent at 36 months.