Study protocol for the multicentre cohorts of Zika virus infection in pregnant women, infants, and acute clinical cases in Latin America and the Caribbean: The ZIKAlliance consortium

Background: The European Commission (EC) Horizon 2020 (H2020)-funded ZIKAlliance Consortium designed a multicentre study including pregnant women (PW), children (CH) and natural history (NH) cohorts. Clinical sites were selected over a wide geographic range within Latin America and the Caribbean, taking into account the dynamic course of the ZIKV epidemic. Methods: Recruitment to the PW cohort will take place in antenatal care clinics. PW will be enrolled regardless of symptoms and followed over the course of pregnancy, approximately every 4 weeks. PW will be revisited at delivery (or after miscarriage/abortion) to assess birth outcomes, including microcephaly and other congenital abnormalities according to the evolving definition of congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). After birth, children will be followed for 2 years in the CH cohort. Follow-up visits are scheduled at ages 1-3, 4-6, 12, and 24 months to assess neurocognitive and developmental milestones. In addition, a NH cohort for the characterization of symptomatic rash/fever illness was designed, including follow-up to capture persisting health problems. Blood, urine, and other biological materials will be collected, and tested for ZIKV and other relevant arboviral diseases (dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever) using RT-PCR or serological methods. A virtual, decentralized biobank will be created. Reciprocal clinical monitoring has been established between partner sites. Substudies of ZIKV seroprevalence, transmissio

Epidemiological Surveillance of Congenital Defects in the Cienfuegos Province

Background: congenital defects are among the leading causes of death in children under one year of age. They constitute a problem for the individual, the family, and society. In Cuba they are the leading cause of death in children under one year of age and in Cienfuegos they rank third. Objective: to describe the most frequent congenital defects presented in the Cienfuegos province between the years 2011 and 2018 and to determine the prevalence at birth, adjusted frequency and trend. Methods: a descriptive, cross-sectional study of the most frequent congenital defects in the Cienfuegos province was carried out, in the period 2011-2018. The universe of 330 live-born children with congenital defects diagnosis and 286 voluntary terminations of pregnancy. The results were presented in data tables or graphs as it was more feasible to display the information. The variables analyzed were: prevalence at birth per year of the occurrence of congenital defects, adjusted frequency, and the most frequent major anomalies in the province. Data analysis was carried out by collecting information in a database for which the model of the congenital malformations Cuban registry and the Cuban congenital malformations prenatal registry was used. The prevalence at birth and the adjusted frequency were determined, as well as the trend in the occurrence of some congenital defects in the province. The results were presented in graphs and data tables as it was more feasible to show the information. Results: down syndrome, hydrocephalus and open anterior wall defects were the ones that most frequently occurred in the Cienfuegos population, with a decreasing trend in the appearance of anomalies such as: esophageal atresia, transposition of the great vessels, among others. Conclusions: down syndrome, hydrocephalus and open anterior wall defects were the congenital defects that most frequently occurred in the pediatric population in Cienfuegos

Study protocol for the multicentre cohorts of Zika virus infection in pregnant women, infants, and acute clinical cases in Latin America and the Caribbean: the ZIKAlliance consortium

Background: The European Commission (EC) Horizon 2020 (H2020)-funded ZIKAlliance Consortium designed a multicentre study including pregnant women (PW), children (CH) and natural history (NH) cohorts. Clinical sites were selected over a wide geographic range within Latin America and the Caribbean, taking into account the dynamic course of the ZIKV epidemic. Methods: Recruitment to the PW cohort will take place in antenatal care clinics. PW will be enrolled regardless of symptoms and followed over the course of pregnancy, approximately every 4 weeks. PW will be revisited at delivery (or after miscarriage/abortion) to assess birth outcomes, including microcephaly and other congenital abnormalities according to the evolving definition of congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). After birth, children will be followed for 2 years in the CH cohort. Follow-up visits are scheduled at ages 1-3, 4-6, 12, and 24 months to assess neurocognitive and developmental milestones. In addition, a NH cohort for the characterization of symptomatic rash/fever illness was designed, including follow-up to capture persisting health problems. Blood, urine, and other biological materials will be collected, and tested for ZIKV and other relevant arboviral diseases (dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever) using RT-PCR or serological methods. A virtual, decentralized biobank will be created. Reciprocal clinical monitoring has been established between partner sites. Substudies of ZIKV seroprevalence, transmission clustering, disabilities and health economics, viral kinetics, the potential role of antibody enhancement, and co-infections will be linked to the cohort studies. Discussion: Results of these large cohort studies will provide better risk estimates for birth defects and other developmental abnormalities associated with ZIKV infection including possible co-factors for the variability of risk estimates between other countries and regions. Additional outcomes include incidence and transmission estimates of ZIKV during and after pregnancy, characterization of short and long-term clinical course following infection and viral kinetics of ZIKV