Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Vector Competence Analyses on Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes using Zika Virus
Published on: May 31, 2020
Microcephaly in Piauí, Brazil: descriptive study during the Zika virus epidemic, 2015-2016
Igor Gonçalves Ribeiro1, Marcia Regina de Andrade1, Janaína de Moraes Silva2
1Ministério da Saúde, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Brasília, DF, Brasil.
Objective:
to describe the occurrence and characteristics of microcephaly cases in Piauí, Brazil, during an epidemic of Zika virus infection in 2015-2016.
Methods:
descriptive study using data of live births from January/2015 to January/2016, obtained from the Information System on Live Births (Sinasc), the Public Health Events Registry (RESP) and the active search for medical records; mothers and live births were tested for dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, besides syphilis, toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, and herpes (STORCH).
Results:
of the 75 microcephaly cases, 34 were related to congenital infectious process; microcephaly prevalence was of 13.6/10 thousand live births; imaging exams confirmed that 34 live births presented calcifications, 23 had cerebral atrophies, 14 had lissencephaly, 12 had ventriculomegaly and 6 had dysgenesis; none tested positive for STORCH, dengue or chikungunya; 1 was IgM positive for Zika.
Conclusion:
there was an outbreak of microcephaly in Piauí, possibly related to infection during pregnancy Zika virus.
Related Concept Videos
What are Viruses?
Eulerian and Lagrangian Flow Descriptions
The Eulerian method focuses on fixed points in space where fluid properties, such as velocity, pressure, and temperature, are observed as the fluid moves between these...
Pleural Disorders: Types and Brief Description
Introduction to Virus
Viruses of Archaea
Viruses with RNA Genomes

