Detection and sequencing of Zika virus in normocephalic newborns with congenital Zika infection

•This series details 14 asymptomatic normocephalic newborns with confirmed congenital Zika infection.•All newborns presented Zika virus (ZIKV) positivity by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.•This series corroborates the neonatal screening for ZIKV in endemic areas. Fourteen asymptomatic normocephalic newborns with confirmed congenital Zika infection were investigated. All newborns presented Zika virus (ZIKV) positivity on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Following ZIKV-specific NS5 gene fragment sequencing in one child, phylogenetic analysis revealed that this isolate belonged to the Asian genotype, and clustered closely with other sequences previously isolated in north-east and northern regions of Brazil.