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The proportion of asymptomatic infections and spectrum of disease among pregnant women infected by Zika virus: systematic monitoring in French Guiana, 2016
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View Affiliations Hide AffiliationsClaude Flamandcflamand pasteur-cayenne.fr
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Citation style for this article: . The proportion of asymptomatic infections and spectrum of disease among pregnant women infected by Zika virus: systematic monitoring in French Guiana, 2016. Euro Surveill. 2017;22(44):pii=17-00102. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2017.22.44.17-00102 Received: 07 Feb 2017; Accepted: 29 Jun 2017
Abstract
Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has been associated with complications during pregnancy. Although the presence of symptoms might be a risk factor for complication, the proportion of ZIKV-infected pregnant women with symptoms remains unknown. Following the emergence of ZIKV in French Guiana, all pregnancies in the territory were monitored by RT-PCR and/or detection of ZIKV antibodies. Follow-up data collected during pregnancy monitoring interviews were analysed from 1 February to 1 June 2016. We enrolled 3,050 pregnant women aged 14–48 years and 573 (19%) had laboratory-confirmed ZIKV infection. Rash, arthralgia, myalgia and conjunctival hyperaemia were more frequently observed in ZIKV-positive women; 23% of them (95% confidence interval (CI): 20–27) had at least one symptom compatible with ZIKV infection. Women 30 years and older were significantly more likely to have symptoms than younger women (28% vs 20%). The proportion of symptomatic infections varied from 17% in the remote interior to 35% in the urbanised population near the coast (adjusted risk ratio: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.4–1.9.). These estimates put findings on cohorts of symptomatic ZIKV-positive pregnant women into the wider context of an epidemic with mainly asymptomatic infections. The proportion of symptomatic ZIKV infections appears to vary substantially between populations.
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