“Early stimulation” in the scenario of Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome: Challenges in three temporalities in the Metropolitan Recife Area, State of Pernambuco

Abstract In 2015, the Zika virus epidemic was declared in Brazil. More than 4,000 children were infected and developed what is known as the Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome. Incurable and only palliated with drugs, for the syndrome, “early stimulation” was presented as the only therapeutic possibility. In 2020, a pandemic, Covid-19, arrives in the country, severely disrupting the lives and care of these children and their families in the Recife, State of Pernambuco region. In this article, three times pervaded by these two health emergencies will be described. At the beginning of the Zika epidemic (2016), rehabilitation therapies were being organized, known and demanded by families. In 2019, with the virus cooled down, vacancies for therapy began to dwindle and families were more discerning and critical about them. In the third period (2020), clinics are closed in the name of social isolation and rehabilitation presents new dilemmas for these families. Rehabilitation routines have allowed for an expansion of the public sphere and spaces for dialogue and questioning of the State and its policies aimed at children and both epidemics. Withdrawal from these routines has far wider consequences for the children, their family and the wider community.