Zika virus can persist for months in newborns, case study suggests

With prolonged infection may come more tissue damage An infant born with microcephaly, but with an otherwise normal physical examination at birth, had evidence of the Zika virus in serum, saliva, and urine nearly 2 months after birth, a case report from Brazil found. The mother of the male infant was potentially infected during her third trimester of pregnancy, and the baby was born at term (40 weeks) with microcephaly. Laboratory testing found evidence of Zika virus in the infant up through 2 months of age, and he began displaying neurological symptoms at 6 months of age, Danielle B.L. Oliveira, PhD, of Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil, and colleagues, reported in a research letter in the New England Journal of Medicine. The authors said that despite being born with microcephaly, the infant had a normal vision and hearing test, and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid was normal at birth, with no abnormalities detected...