Clinical-epidemiological description of live births with microcephaly in the state of Sergipe, Brazil, 2015.

OBJECTIVE: to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of microcephaly cases in live births in Sergipe, Brazil, and to calculate the prevalence in its municipalities.

METHODS: this is a descriptive study on live births from September 1st to November 30th, 2015, with data from medical records and interviews with mothers.

RESULTS: 83 cases of microcephaly were confirmed, with three deaths; prevalence in the 26 municipalities with confirmed cases ranged from 18 to 185/10,000 live births; the median of head circumference was 31 cm (range: 22.5-33.0); agenesis of corpus callosum (26/43), lissencephaly (12/43), absence of midline (10/43) and ventriculomegaly (8/43) were observed in the transfontanellar ultrasound; 40 mothers reported rash in pregnancy, 23 in the first trimester, with pruritus, arthralgia and headache; seven were positive for infections potentially causing malformations.

CONCLUSION: there was a high occurrence of cases of microcephaly, and reports of signs and symptoms compatible with Zika virus infection during pregnancy.