Microcephaly in the Brazilian northeast: investigation of possible correlated factors

The Brazilian northeast presented an outbreak of children born with Microcephaly that in August 2015 through April 2016 (Brasília, 2015). Microcephaly is a congenital anomaly associated with brain damage. The Zika virus has, until now, been indicated as the main agent causing these anomalies. This work is a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study of the retrospective type. As data source, the database of the Epidemiological Surveillance Rapid Response of the Ministry of Health was used based on the notifications made at the biggest maternity hospital in the state. A logistic regression model was used to analyze the data. This sample included 98 mothers of babies with microcephaly. Data analysis showed that the variables that contribute most to classify the individuals regarding the diagnosis of Microcephaly were Mother with IgG positive for Cytomegalovirus and Mother with IgG positive for Toxoplasmosis. Thus, the imminence of a public health crisis requires using statistical tools for decision making to define the adequate strategy in regions where the access to serological and viral identification tests is hard.