Data from: Preventing Zika virus infection during pregnancy using a seasonal window of opportunity for conception

It has come to light that Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy can
result in trans-placental transmission to the fetus along with fetal
death, congenital microcephaly and/or Central Nervous System (CNS)
malformations. There are projected to be > 9, 200, 000 births
annually in countries with ongoing ZIKV transmission. In response to the
ZIKV threat, the World Health Organization (WHO) is strategically
targeting prevention of infection in pregnant women and funding
contraception in epidemic regions. I propose that the damaging effects of
ZIKV can be reduced using a seasonal window of opportunity for conception
that may minimize maternal exposure. Like other acute viral
infections—including the related flavivirus, dengue virus (DENV)—the
transmission of ZIKV is anticipated to be seasonal. By seasonally planning
pregnancy, this aspect of pathogen ecology can be leveraged to align
sensitive periods of gestation with the low-transmission season.