Case series on Zika virus genome detection in cerebrospinal fluid samples from newborns at a Brazilian tertiary hospital.

Abstract

Detection of ribonucleic acid (RNA) Zika virus in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by molecular methods serves as a marker of the involvement of congenital infection in newborns' central nervous system. This study aims to describe the detection of Zika virus genome in CSF samples from newborns (aged from one to 28 days) using molecular biology and its clinical consequences following the Zika virus epidemic from October 2015 to May 2017, in Brazil. This prospective descriptive study molecularly analyzed 151 CSF samples from neonates at Professor Doutor Jose Aristodemo Pinotti Hospital, collected for cytological and biochemical diagnosis from June 2017 to June 2021. After the consent of legal guardians, signing of free and informed consent forms, and the issuance of these results, the remaining CSF was sent to the Virology Laboratory of School of Medical Sciences in the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and was subjected to RNA extraction and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). A review of patients' medical records and descriptive statistics were also performed. This study obtained 151 CSF samples, four of which were PCR positive for Zika virus (2.6%, with two presenting congenital malformations). These results suggest the clinical relevance of etiological diagnosis of congenital Zika syndrome by molecular biology in newborns' CSF samples even after the Zika virus epidemic (which occurred from October 2015 to May 2017) in Brazil.