Zika virus associated deaths in Colombia

[...]in all patients RT-PCR for Zika virus was positive, confirmed at the Colombia national reference laboratory. From Sept 22, 2015, to March 19, 2016, there were 58 838 cases of Zika virus infection in Colombia (2361 laboratory-confirmed, 49 211 diagnosed by clinical criteria, and 7266 suspected); nevertheless before the current report, only one previous fatal case has been described, from our group in Colombia.4 Before the current outbreak in Latin America, Zika virus was not linked to deaths,1,3,4 but as of Nov 28, 2015, the Brazil Ministry of Health has also reported three deaths associated with Zika virus infection (two in adults and one in a newborn baby).5 These cases call attention to the need for evidence-based guidelines for clinical management of Zika, as well as the possible occurrence of atypical and severe cases (including possibly congenitally-related microcephaly).2,3,5 Based in our first case report,4 such guidelines have been considered and suggested by the European Centre for Disease Control in its recent Rapid Risk Assessment.