According to a new study, exposure to the Zika Virus in the womb may cause life-long damage to the child’s immune system. Previous research showed that Zika infections during pregnancy lead to developmental problems such as microcephaly and brain disabilities in approximately 5% of the cases. However, this latest study reveals that the risk of damage from prenatal infections may be much higher. Exposure to the virus left many children deficient in some types of immune cells, meaning that routine childhood vaccines did not produce the usual high level of protection for these children. As a result these kids were more vulnerable to tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough.
“The medical field has a very specific definition of congenital Zika syndrome. The children must have impaired skull or brain development,” explained the study’s leader investigator Suan-Sin Foo, a maternal-fetal virologist with the Cleveland Clinic. “Our study clearly shows that there’s much more to this condition than meets the eye.”
Full Story: HealthDay
