Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26993883›Full record

ArticleLancet (London, England)2016

Association between Zika virus and microcephaly in French Polynesia, 2013-15: a retrospective study.

Simon Cauchemez, Marianne Besnard, Priscillia Bompard, Timothée Dub, Prisca Guillemette-Artur, Dominique Eyrolle-Guignot, Henrik Salje, Maria D Van Kerkhove, Véronique Abadie, Catherine Garel and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Lancet (London, England), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 472 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
472citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

472 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. An updated review of Zika virus vaccine development.Clinical and experimental vaccine research · 2025
    Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

412 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Simon CauchemezMathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. Electronic address: simon.cauchemez@pasteur.fr.
Marianne BesnardNeonatal Care Department, French Polynesia Hospital Centre, Pirae, Tahiti, French Polynesia.
Priscillia BompardBureau de Veille Sanitaire, Direction de la Santé, Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia.
Timothée DubEmerging Diseases Epidemiology Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Prisca Guillemette-ArturMedical Imaging Department, French Polynesia Hospital Centre, Pirae, Tahiti, French Polynesia.
Dominique Eyrolle-GuignotGynecology-Obstetrics Department, French Polynesia Hospital Centre, Pirae, Tahiti, French Polynesia.
Henrik SaljeMathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Maria D Van KerkhoveCentre for Global Health, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Véronique AbadieGeneral Paediatrics Department, Necker Hospital, Paris, France.
Catherine GarelDepartment of Paediatric Radiology, Hôpital d'Enfants Armand-Trousseau, Paris, France.
Arnaud FontanetEmerging Diseases Epidemiology Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; Centre for Global Health, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris, France.
Henri-Pierre MalletBureau de Veille Sanitaire, Direction de la Santé, Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia.

Funding

Models for synthesising molecular, clinical and epidemiological data, and translaU01GM110721 · NIGMS · IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE · PI CAUCHEMEZ, SIMON, FERGUSON, NEIL MORRIS · 2014 to 2018
$1.9M
NIGMS NIH HHS U01 GM110721
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe emergence of Zika virus in the Americas has coincided with increased reports of babies born with microcephaly. On Feb 1, 2016, WHO declared the suspected link between Zika virus and microcephaly to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. This association, however, has not been precisely quantified.

methodsWe retrospectively analysed data from a Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia, which was the largest documented outbreak before that in the Americas. We used serological and surveillance data to estimate the probability of infection with Zika virus for each week of the epidemic and searched medical records to identify all cases of microcephaly from September, 2013, to July, 2015. Simple models were used to assess periods of risk in pregnancy when Zika virus might increase the risk of microcephaly and estimate the associated risk.

findingsThe Zika virus outbreak began in October, 2013, and ended in April, 2014, and 66% (95% CI 62-70) of the general population were infected. Of the eight microcephaly cases identified during the 23-month study period, seven (88%) occurred in the 4-month period March 1 to July 10, 2014. The timing of these cases was best explained by a period of risk in the first trimester of pregnancy. In this model, the baseline prevalence of microcephaly was two cases (95% CI 0-8) per 10,000 neonates, and the risk of microcephaly associated with Zika virus infection was 95 cases (34-191) per 10,000 women infected in the first trimester. We could not rule out an increased risk of microcephaly from infection in other trimesters, but models that excluded the first trimester were not supported by the data.

interpretationOur findings provide a quantitative estimate of the risk of microcephaly in fetuses and neonates whose mothers are infected with Zika virus.

fundingLabex-IBEID, NIH-MIDAS, AXA Research fund, EU-PREDEMICS.

Indexed as

Zika VirusAdultFemaleHumansInfant, NewbornMaleMicrocephalyPolynesiaPregnancyRetrospective StudiesRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsYoung AdultZika Virus Infection

Identifiers

PMID26993883
PMCPMC4909533

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.