Detection and sequencing of Zika virus in normocephalic newborns with congenital Zika infection

(1)Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

(2)Laboratório de Flavivírus, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Laboratório de Genética Celular e Molecular, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

(3)Maternidade de Referência Prof. José Maria de Magalhães Netto-SESAB, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

(4)Hospital Universitário Professor Edgar Santos, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

(5)Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

(6)Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

(7)Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. 

Fourteen asymptomatic normocephalic newborns with confirmed congenital Zika infection were investigated. All newborns presented Zika virus (ZIKV) positivity on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Following ZIKV-specific NS5 gene fragment sequencing in one child, phylogenetic analysis revealed that this isolate belonged to the Asian genotype, and clustered closely with other sequences previously isolated in north-east and northern regions of Brazil.