When a mother is infected with Zika while carrying fraternal twins, one twin may be born with a host of severe birth defects associated with the virus and the other may be born healthy.
In a recent article in The New York Times, Pulitzer Prize-wining health and science writer Pam Belluck reported on her in-person observations of a set of fraternal twins in Brazil whose mother was infected with the Zika virus during pregnancy.
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Here are three things to know about "Zika twins."
1. Scientific researchers are often keen to study twins because of the similarities of their birth, genetic makeup and home experience, which can allow researchers to rule out possible causes of disease and identify new possibilities.
2. In the two known cases of identical twins born to Zika-infected mothers, both sets of twins were born with severe neurological defects, according to Ms. Belluck's report. Additionally, in one set of fraternal twins, both infants were born with birth defects. However, in six other cases of fraternal twins born to Zika-infected mothers, one twin was born seemingly healthy while the other suffered from severe developmental defects.
3. In the Times, Ms. Belluck recounts her experience observing one such set of Zika twins.
"I did not anticipate the situation of João Lucas and Ana Vitória da Silva Araújo, twins whose different fates had overwhelmed their mother and caused the brain-damaged twin, João Lucas, to be placed with a guardian," wrote Ms. Belluck.
"These twins, more than a year old when I met them, became a window into much more than the Zika virus. Their story reflects struggles with poverty and lack of education; healthcare resources so scarce that people have to travel long distances just to get basic, low-tech services; the need for friends and acquaintances to take on ad hoc roles as substitute caregivers for children in crisis."
To read the full NYT report, click here.
More articles on the Zika virus:
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Florida releases thousands of bacteria-infected mosquitoes to fight Zika
CDC researchers call for increased surveillance of Zika-related epilepsy