Utilising additional sources of information on microcephaly

Abstract

When the Zika virus outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Feb 1, 2016, the WHO International Health Regulations Emergency Committee made several recommendations. One of them was for increased research into the aetiology of clusters of microcephaly and its link to Zika virus.1 Quantification of microcephaly incidence is now a pressing requirement to estimate the proportion of cases that might be attributable to Zika virus infection. However, most countries that are at risk of Zika virus transmission because of the presence of Aedes mosquitoes have weak health-care systems and even weaker surveillance systems. In particular, they do not have detailed death registers for neonates or systematic reporting of head circumference for births. Therefore, it is important to piece together all available historical evidence to understand the current situation.