Introduction

An outbreak of infection in pregnant women by Zika virus (ZIKV), was associated with congenital microcephaly.

The objective of this study was to describe preliminary data on epileptic seizures and the probability of non-occurrence of these seizures in the first months of life in children born with congenital ZIKV syndrome.

Methods

Concurrent cohort study including newborns and infants with congenital ZIKV.

The outcome analyzed was the clinical diagnosis by neuropediatrics of epileptic crisis through the reports of the mothers and the institution of antiepileptic drugs.

Results

Data from 106 of the 109 infants with a confirmed or probable association of ZIKV infection were analyzed.

Forty children (37.7%) presented epileptic seizures, which was classified in 43.3% of cases as spasm, in 22.7% as generalized tonic seizures, in 20.5% in partial and in 4.5% in other types of crises.

The median number of days until the first report of epileptic seizures was 192 days from the date of birth.

Discussion

A high frequency of epileptic seizures was observed in children with microcephaly. According to World Health Organization June 2016 report, 1520 patients worldwide were born with microcephaly secondary to congenital ZIKV infection, our study covers 7% of all these children.

Epileptic seizures began in the first half of life, with spasm being the most frequently reported type (43.3%).

In conclusion, it was verified that more than a third of the children with ZIKV congenital syndrome had epileptic seizures (38.7%).