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Case Reports
. 2017 Aug 15;65(4):687-690.
doi: 10.1093/cid/cix374.

Congenital Zika Virus Infection Induces Severe Spinal Cord Injury

Fernando S Ramalho  1 , Aparecida Y Yamamoto  2 , Luis L da Silva  3 , Luiz T M Figueiredo  4 , Lenaldo B Rocha  5 , Luciano Neder  1 , Sara R Teixeira  4 , Letícia A Apolinário  1 , Leandra N Z Ramalho  1 , Deisy M Silva  1 , Conrado M Coutinho  6 , Patrícia P Melli  6 , Marlei J Augusto  1 , Ligia B Santoro  1 , Geraldo Duarte  6 , Marisa M Mussi-Pinhata  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Congenital Zika Virus Infection Induces Severe Spinal Cord Injury

Fernando S Ramalho et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

We report 2 fatal cases of congenital Zika virus (ZIKV) infection. Brain anomalies, including atrophy of the cerebral cortex and brainstem, and cerebellar aplasia were observed. The spinal cord showed architectural distortion, severe neuronal loss, and microcalcifications. The ZIKV proteins and flavivirus-like particles were detected in cytoplasm of spinal neurons, and spinal cord samples were positive for ZIKV RNA.

Keywords: Zika virus; cerebellar aplasia; cortical atrophy; flavivirus; spinal cord injury.

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