The study has been initiated in Puerto Rico — where hundreds of infants could be born with Zika-related birth defects — and will expand to locations across Brazil, Colombia and other regions experiencing significant local transmission of the virus. The study aims to enroll approximately 10,000 pregnant women.
Birth defects linked to Zika infection include microcephaly and other fetal brain defects, abnormal eye development and nerve damage.
“The full scope of the effect of Zika virus in pregnancy has not yet been fully determined,” said Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “This large prospective study promises to provide important new data that will help guide the medical and public health responses to the Zika virus epidemic.”
More articles on the Zika virus:
Hologic’s diagnostic assay for Zika earns emergency use clearance from FDA
FDA approves Zika vaccine for human trials
Infographic: Where in the US have Zika cases been reported? [June 17 update]
