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Case Reports
. 2021 Apr 30;100(17):e25695.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000025695.

Neonatal consequences of maternal exposure to the chikungunya virus: Case reports

Thamirys Cosmo Grillo Fajardo  1 , Rosa Estela Gazeta  2 , Daniel Thome Catalan  1 , Alexandra Siqueira Mello  1 , Andrea Cristina Botelho da Silva  1 , Ana Paula Antunes Pascalicchio Bertozzi  2 , Geovane Ribeiro Dos Santos  3 , Clóvis Antonio Lopes Pinto  4 , Cairo Oliveira Monteiro  5 , Rafael Rahal Guaragna Machado  5 , Danielle Bruna Leal Oliveira  5 , Edison Luiz Durigon  5 , Saulo Duarte Passos  1   2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Neonatal consequences of maternal exposure to the chikungunya virus: Case reports

Thamirys Cosmo Grillo Fajardo et al. Medicine (Baltimore). .

Abstract

Rationale: The chikungunya virus (CHIKV) was first isolated in a Tanzanian epidemic area between 1952 and 1953. The best description of the CHIKV transmission during pregnancy can be found in a well-documented epidemic in 2005, in the "La Reunion" island, a French territory located in the Indian Ocean, in which about one-third of the population was infected. Reports of arbovirus infections in pregnancy are increasing over time, but the spectrum of clinical findings remains an incognita among researchers, including CHIKV.

Patient concerns: In this report, it was possible to verify 2 cases exposed to CHIKV during foetal period and the possible implications of the infection on gestational structures and exposed children after the birth.

Diagnosis: In both cases, the mothers were positive by laboratory tests in serologic analysis for CHIKV, as ezyme-linked immunossorbent assay (ELISA), plaque reduction neutralisation testing (PRNT) and immunofluorescence (IF); but there were no positive tests in quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for mothers or children.

Interventions: The exposed children were followed up in a paediatrics clinic in order not only to provide the medical assistance, but also to verify child development and the possible implications and neurocognitive changes caused by gestational infection.

Outcomes: There were neurological and developmental changes in one of the children followed up on an outpatient basis. There was an improvement in the neurological situation and symptoms only 3 years and 1 month after birth.

Lessons: Based on the cases presented, we can conclude that clinical symptoms of CHIKV maternal infection may occur late in new-borns and can affect their development.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interests to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRNT test of R1 in line 1, in horizontal position, and PRNT test of G1 in line 2, in horizontal position.
Figure 2
Figure 2
PRNT test of R2 in line 1, in horizontal position, and PRNT test of G2 in line 2, in horizontal position.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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