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SCIENCEThursday 11 February 2016

Babies’ eye damage and Zika? Brazil study suggests a link

LINDSEY TANNER This combination of images provided by the American Medical Association shows abnormalities at upper left and upper right on
AP Medical Writer the back areas of the inner eyes of a 1-month-old boy diagnosed with microcephaly due to a possible Zika congenital infection.
CHICAGO (AP) — The
Zika virus might cause eye Associated Press
damage in small-headed
infants born to women in- leads to eye damage ties or scars in the retina Northwestern University gions.
fected during pregnancy, can’t be determined from and optic nerve. eye specialists notes that But vision tests are war-
a small study in Brazil sug- the study. The babies’ mothers were infections other than Zika ranted for microcephaly
gests. presumed to have de- have been linked with babies in those regions,
The study lacks hard proof The results were pub- veloped Zika infections similar eye problems, and given the study results, so
of any link with Zika and vi- lished online Tuesday in during pregnancy, and calls the potential link with that any affected infants
sion abnormalities, but as the medical journal JAMA most reported symptoms Zika “presumptive.” Drs. can be followed and giv-
a precaution, the authors Ophthalmology. including rash, fever and Lee Jampol and Debra en glasses, eye patches
recommend routine vision The researchers found joint pain, according to Goldstein say it’s unclear or other treatment as they
testing in infants born with eye damage in 10 of 29 the researchers, led by if the eye lesions found in mature, Jampol said. He
microcephaly in areas babies born with micro- Dr. Rubens Belfort of the the study occur in babies said the damage seen in
where Zika infections have cephaly at the Roberto Federal University of Sao without microcephaly, so the study is likely irrevers-
occurred. Microcephaly, Santos General Hospital in Paolo. they don’t recommend ible, but it’s too soon to
which has many causes, Salvador, Brazil. The prob- routine eye tests in all ba- know if any of the babies
means an abnormally lems included abnormali- A journal editorial by two bies in Zika-infested re- will be blind.q
small head and the con-
dition typically involves
brain defects. It has made
headlines because of an
apparent spike in cases in
Brazil where Zika infections
are rampant.
Scientists are trying to de-
termine if the Zika (ZEE’-
kuh) virus, spread by mos-
quito bites, can cause
microcephaly. Complica-
tions from microcephaly
can include vision prob-
lems, so whether Zika