Antibodies to Zika virus in mothers from Hawaii who delivered babies with and without microcephaly between 2009-2012.

Kumar M, Ching L, Astern J, Lim E, Stokes AJ, Melish M, Nerurkar VR.

Citation

Kumar M, Ching L, Astern J, Lim E, Stokes AJ, Melish M, Nerurkar VR. (2016) Antibodies to Zika virus in mothers from Hawaii who delivered babies with and without microcephaly between 2009-2012. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 10(12):e0005262.

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging mosquito-borne pathogen. ZIKV infection is linked to the
development of severe fetal abnormalities that include spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, hydranencephaly, and microcephaly. ZIKV outbreaks have been recorded in the United States.
We recently demonstrated the first congenital ZIKV infection in the United States. In this
study, we investigated archived blood samples from six mothers who gave birth to babies
with microcephaly and 12 mothers who gave birth to healthy babies in Hawaii between 2009
and 2012. We tested maternal blood for the presence of ZIKV IgM and IgG antibodies using
commercially available human ZIKV IgM and IgG ELISA kits. Blood from one mother who
delivered babies with microcephaly tested positive for ZIKV IgM antibody (16.6%) and blood
from three mothers tested positive for ZIKV IgG antibody (50%). ZIKV showed a trend toward
significance with microcephaly. ZIKV IgG antibody positive mothers were more likely to
deliver babies with microcephaly than mothers who were negative for ZIKV IgG antibodies
(Odds ratio [OR] = 11.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.8�±147.9, p = 0.083). Similarly, ZIKV
IgM antibody positive mothers were also more likely to deliver babies with microcephaly than
mothers who were negative for ZIKV IgM antibody (OR = 6.8, 95% CI = 0.2�±195.1). These
data provide further evidence of a link between ZIKV infection and microcephaly and suggests
presence of ZIKV positive cases and associated microcephaly in the United States as
early as 2009.