Improving Zika virus detection in infants

Head circumference is not an accurate indicator of viral infection in newborns, researchers report. Zika virus has been linked to microcephaly in the babies of infected mothers, leading some organizations, including the Brazilian ministry of health, to focus on newborns’ head circumferences as an infection indicator. But this approach only identifies a fraction of Zika cases in newborns, researchers reported yesterday (June 29) in The Lancet, suggesting that measurements of head circumference should be combined with other criteria to provide a more accurate diagnosis. “One in five definite or probable Zika cases had head circumference values in the normal range,” study coauthor Cesar Victora of the Federal University of Pelotas in Brazil said in a statement. “Therefore, the current focus on microcephaly screening alone is too narrow.” In their review of 1,501 suspected cases of microcephaly investigated in Brazil between November 2015 and February 2016, the researchers also found that rashes—a potential indicator...