BRAZIL – Scientists struggling to unravel the mysteries of a Zika epidemic in Brazil hope they can learn from cases of women giving birth to twins in which only one child is afflicted by the microcephaly birth defect associated with the virus. Jaqueline Jessica Silva de Oliveira hoped doctors were wrong when a routine ultrasound showed that one of her unborn twins would be born with the condition, marked by stunted head size and developmental issues.

“When I found out one of them had microcephaly, the ground fell out from beneath me,” the 25-year-old said as she sat on the sofa of her home in the city of Santos. “You always hope that they will be born well, thinking that it could be a mistake by the doctor or in the ultrasound.” Her son Lucas, who she holds in her arms, was born healthy in November. His twin sister Laura, whose head is visibly much smaller, requires regular treatment by a team of neurologists and physiotherapists in nearby Sao Paulo. (Reuters)…[+]