Author(s)

Janice Pérez-Padilla^1*, Gabriela Paz-Bailey¹, Dana Meaney-Delman², Kate Doyle³, Joy Gary⁴, Dania M. Rodriguez¹, Julu Bhatnagar⁴, Nicole M. Pérez-Rodriguez⁵, Sara Montalvo⁵, Luisa Alvarado⁵, Tyler M. Sharp¹

¹Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dengue Branch, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
²CDC, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Atlanta, GA, USA.
³CDC, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁴CDC, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁵Ponce Health Sciences University/Saint Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Background: Infection with Zika virus (ZIKV) during pregnancy is known to cause birth defects and could also be linked to pregnancy loss. Case: A pregnant woman in Puerto Rico contracted ZIKV at 16 weeks gestation. ZIKV RNA persisted in serum from her initial test at 16 weeks through 24 weeks gestation, when fetal demise occurred, and was detected in placental tissue. Conclusion: Prolonged detection of ZIKV RNA in maternal serum was associated with ZIKV RNA detection in the placenta of a patient who experienced fetal demise. While detection of placenta ZIKV RNA does not establish that ZIKV conclusively caused the demise, these findings support emerging evidence that the placenta may serve as a reservoir for ZIKV, which may be associated with prolonged detection of ZIKV RNA in serum.

Zika, Pregnancy Outcomes, ZIKV Persistence

Pérez-Padilla, J. , Paz-Bailey, G. , Meaney-Delman, D. , Doyle, K. , Gary, J. , Rodriguez, D. , Bhatnagar, J. , Pérez-Rodriguez, N. , Montalvo, S. , Alvarado, L. and Sharp, T. (2019) Persistent Zika Virus Infection Associated with Early Fetal Demise: A Case Report. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 9, 698-706. doi: 10.4236/ojog.2019.95069.