Â鶹ŮÓÅ

Much of the public alarm about Zika has focused on the dramatic, heartbreaking pictures of children with microcephaly, a condition characterized by an abnormally small head. But a paper published Tuesday from the epicenter of the epidemic in northeastern Brazil shows that the damage to a baby’s brain may be far more extensive and diverse than has been previously known. (Cha, 8/23)

A study of brain scans and ultrasound pictures of 45 Brazilian babies whose mothers were infected with Zika in pregnancy shows that the virus can inflict serious damage to many different parts of the fetal brain beyond microcephaly, the condition of unusually small heads that has become the sinister signature of Zika. The images, published Tuesday in the journal Radiology, also suggest a grim possibility: Because some of the damage was seen in brain areas that continue to develop after birth, it may be that babies born without obvious impairment will experience problems as they grow. (Belluck, 8/23)

The devastating effects of the Zika virus on the brains of fetuses go beyond microcephaly, according to a new study published today in the medical journal Radiology. Researchers evaluated brain scans of fetuses and infants with suspected Zika infection and found that in addition to microcephaly there were severe abnormalities in 94 percent of infants. The researchers studied 17 babies and fetuses with confirmed Zika diagnosis and 28 with suspected Zika infection. Viral infection of a pregnant woman has been linked to increased risk of microcephaly in the fetus, but researchers are still learning how the virus affects brain development. (Mohney and Ghodadra, 8/23)

Micaela (Mendoza)  is among the first babies to be born in the United States with Zika-related complications. Doctors are learning that some problems, such as having microcephaly, or a very small head, are relatively easy to spot during pregnancy or shortly after birth. But other, more subtle problems such as brain calcifications can be more difficult to catch.And it's hard to know what these more subtle complications will mean for a child later in life. (Cohen, 8/23)