Researchers in Brazil found another reason to fear Zika. After analyzing 70 cases of babies born with microcephaly related to the virus, they found that 6% of them were deaf.
Brazilian researchers wanted to observe the prevalence of hearing loss in newborns with microcephaly related to Zika, since deafness has been associated with other congenital, viral infections.
According to Marcela Hernández, specialist on pediatric infectious diseases from the National Children’s Hospital (HNN), as more cases are studied, more related diseases could appear.
As time goes on, more related diseases have appeared: heart disease, visual disorders and congenital infections such as toxoplasmosis and congenital citomegaloviris. They do not only cause neurological disorders but also cause hearing or vision disorders,
explained the specialist.
In addition, Hernández declared that an association to a disease does not exactly mean that it is a consequence of it. More studies are necessary to determine that.