Ophthalmologic manifestations of Zika virus infection

Abstract

Introduction: Zika virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus transmited mainly by infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. These can also transmit dengue and chikungunya virus and are found throughout most of North, South and Central Americas including some parts of the US. Objectives: to evaluate the ocular findings in infants with microcephaly Associated with presumed intrauterine ZIKV infection globally. Materials and methods: This study is based on analysis of statistics from countries affected by the virus Zika.A detailed clinical history was obtained, including the prenatal and postnatal history and maternal systemic history. Results: The ocular lesions consisted of focal pigment mottling and chorioretinal atrophy with a predilection for the posterior pole, especially the macular area, as well as optic disc abnormalities. No signs of active uveitis or vasculitis were observed. The current data suggest the possibility that even oligosymptomatic or asymptomatic pregnant patients presumably infected with ZIKV may have microcephalic newborns with ophthalmoscopic lesions. The frequency of eye lesions in the world are: retina and chorioretinal atrophy (54,7%); optic nerve abnormalities(37,1%); bilateral iris coloboma (6,1%); lens subluxation (2,1%). Conclusion: In summary, congenital infection due to presumed ZIKV exposure is Associated with vision-threatening findings, which include bilateral macular and perimacular lesions as well as optic nerve abnormalities in most cases. This study can help guide clinical management and practice, as we observed that a high proportion of the infants with microcephaly had ophthalmologic lesions. Infants with microcephaly should undergo routine ophthalmologic evaluations to identify such lesions. In hightransmission settings, such as South America, Central America, and Brazil, ophthalmologists should be aware of the risk of congenital ZIKV-Associated ophthalmologic sequelae.