Zika virus infection in early pregnancy increases the likelihood of persistent neutralizing antibodies
Our findings suggest long-term persistence of neutralizing antibodies in most women infected with ZIKV during pregnancy, especially when infection occurred in the first trimester of pregnancy ZIKV-specific nAb persistence was rare in children with antenatal exposure once maternal antibodies waned, reinforcing concerns about limited postnatal protection in this group. These results underscore the importance of further studies to clarify the role of neutralizing antibodies in long-term protection and disease pathogenesis, particularly in endemic regions where the risk of reinfection or exposure to related arboviruses remains high.
Authors
- Marcio Jose de Medeiros
- Luiz Henrique Ferraz Demarchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8693-7897)
- Wagner de Souza Fernandes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3500-9721)
- Aline Etelvina Casaril Arrua
- Ana Isabel do Nascimento (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2473-0054)
- Maria Eulina Quilião
- Luma da Cruz Moura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6104-2013)
- Everton Falcão de Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0074-5278)
- Nathalia dos Santos Alves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0823-1976)
- Waleska Dias Schwarcz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8095-8846)
- Gislene Garcia de Castro Lichs
- Natália Oliveira Alves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3485-5360)
- Fabio Antonio Venancio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7458-7057)
- Amanda Torrentes de Carvalho
- Deborah Ledesma Taira
- Silvia Helena dos Santos Leite (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6609-954X)
- Sanny Cerqueira de Oliveira Gabeira
- Zilton Vasconcelos
- Karin Nielsen-Saines
- Adriana de Souza Azevedo
- Sheila Maria Barbosa de Lima
- Rivaldo Venâncio da Cunha
- Cláudia Du Bocage Santos-Pinto
- Margarida dos Santos Salú
- Marina Castilhos Souza Umaki Zardin
Institutions
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (BR)
- Universidade Federal Fluminense (BR)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Instituto Nacional de Saúde (MZ)
- Secretaria da Saúde (BR)
- Associação de Pais e Amigos dos Excepcionais de São Paulo (BR)
- Governo do Estado de Mato Grosso (BR)
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PLoS neglected tropical diseases
- Published
- 2026-01-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013906
- Primary Topic
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00