WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) says experts from the Americas, including the Caribbean, have been discussing the crucial role of obstetric ultrasound in the screening and monitoring of abnormalities associated in pregnant women who have contracted the mosquito borne Zika virus.

According to the experts, obstetric sonography is the primary tool recommended for screening and monitoring of fetal/neonatal brain abnormalities associated with the Zika virus.

“Although ultrasonography is a safe technology, it is user reliant and requires an extensive knowledge in maternal-foetal anatomy, acquisition and interpretation of images,” PAHO said, adding that pregnant women can be infected with Zika virus in any trimester, “which has caused increasing concern for maternal-foetal transmission of the virus.”

Structural brain anomalies, such as microcephaly, intracranial calcifications, ventriculomegaly, and malformation of cortical development, have been reported in many babies with congenital Zika virus infection..

The discussions included Dr Andrea Poretti and Dr Thierry AGM Huisman, experts in congenital brain anomalies from Johns Hopkins University; Dr Jonel Di Muro from the Hospital Luis Razzetti of Venezuela; Priscilla Butler from the American College of Radiology; and Dr. Adriano Hazin from the Instituto de Medicina Integral; and Professor Fernando Figueira in Recife, Brazil.

The panellists focused on the spectrum of neuroimaging findings that may be seen in children with congenital Zika virus infection, the crucial role and use of ultrasonography in the screening and monitoring of abnormalities associated with the Zika virus and the appropriateness of the use of other neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography.

In some cases, PAHO said other technologies, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), have been used in addition to obstetric sonography.

PAHO said MRI provides more detailed information about the brain anatomy than ultrasonography, and can clarify unclear ultrasonography findings and when more details about the foetal/neonatal brain anatomy are needed.

“MRI is not as readily available as ultrasonography, however, and tends to be costly,” PAHO said.

Latin America and the Caribbean face a gap in radiology services, according to PAHO experts.

“The availability and quality of services are often minimal or even unavailable, and some services have non-functional equipment, fail to practice quality control and assurance, or need more training for their staff.”

The Zika virus is transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes, and its symptoms include fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache.

To date, PAHO said 47 countries and territories in the Americas have confirmed autochthonous, vector-borne transmission of Zika virus disease since 2015, and five countries in the Americas have reported sexually transmitted Zika cases.