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Zika virus has been known for more than half a century. Its clinical significance was just recently discovered, after the epidemic of Zika virus emerged in South and Central America. A task force established in 2015 by the Brazil Ministry of Health investigated the possible association between congenital Zika infection and microcephaly in fetuses and newborns. Since then more and more evidence emerged, supporting this hypothesis. The objective of this article is to review and summarize the currently available literature regarding Zika virus from a neonatologist’s standpoint and provide some guidance to medical providers who may have to care for potentially exposed pregnant patients and their newborns.

Phenylketonuria is a hereditary metabolic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. Elevated phenylalanine levels in a pregnant woman with phenylketonuria result in phenylalanine embryopathy. Failure to follow special diets during gestation results in neonatal dysplasia. More favorable outcomes are observed when phenylalanine levels remain within normal ranges prior to conception, or at least when they reach normal levels by the 4th-10th weeks of gestation. We report the case of a newborn with maternal phenylketonuria.