Infecção gestacional por Zika Vírus: desenvolvimento motor nos primeiros anos de vida, contexto ambiental e perfil epidemiológico

Abstract

In the year 2015, Brazil faced an outbreak of infection by Zika Virus (ZV), mainly in the Northeast region, with 907 cases in pregnant women. After the birth of these infants, the association between the virus and several congenital malformations was confirmed, characterizing the Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome (SCZV), which can lead to impaired motor, cognitive, auditory and visual functions. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the motor development, the stimulation opportunities present in the domicile of infants who were exposed to Zika Virus infection during gestation during the first 20 months of life and the epidemiological profile of this condition in Juiz de Fora and region. This is a longitudinal, prospective, observational study, approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora - UFJF under opinion no: 2,001,169. Participants' motor development was assessed using the Bayley Scale of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley III) and the stimulation opportunities present in the home environment through the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development - Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS) and Self Report (AHEMD-SR). In the description of the epidemiological profile, the present study observed a higher rate of infection in the female sex and in the age group of 21 to 41 years. Regarding motor development, five participants presented some type of delay or alteration in at least one of the evaluations performed, and only two were classified at birth as SCZV. No participant presented microcephaly at birth, but two developed changes in cephalic measurements in the subsequent months. A strong and moderate correlation was found between the Bayley Motor Scale and AHEMD in the 8 to 12 months and 17 to 20 months age groups, respectively. Based on these results, it is concluded that ZV infection in Juiz de Fora had a great potential to affect pregnant women, since the highest prevalence was in females and reproductive age, and could result in unfavorable outcomes to the fetus, even in cases that were not framed at birth as SCZV, as high percentages of delays or motor development changes were observed in the study participants. The moderate to strong relationships between AHEMD and Bayley reinforce the importance of the environment in motor development in the first years of life, and special attention should be given to the stimulation opportunities present in the domicile of cases where there was gestational ZV infection.