Newborns with the characteristics of congenital syndrome associated with Zika virus (CSAZ) are being born in urban hospitals after the 2016 Zika virus epidemic in Jamaica. Phenotypic features include microcephaly, craniofacial disproportion, neuro-imaging and neuro-pathological findings and arthrogryposis. A trend towards babies being delivered with small head circumferences, but not yet in the range of microcephaly and others with normal head sizes who were born to women who were symptomatic in pregnancy is also being observed. While, most babies with probable CSAZ are being born to asymptomatic women who did not report any symptoms related to arbovirus illness in pregnancy. Diagnosis is challenged by serological cross-reactivity between circulating flaviviruses. Team management is multidisciplinary to maximize the neuro-developmental potential of this vulnerable patient population.

The Chikungunya Fever epidemic had significant public health and economic impact in Jamaica. In children, there were characteristic presentations in neonates and young infants and in children six months to six years. Neurologic involvement was common but other organ dysfunction was rare.

Before the emergence of Zika in 2016 and Chikungunya in 2014, there have been numerous dengue outbreaks in the Caribbean. Despite this, there is a paucity of published studies on dengue in children from this region. The potential for exponential spread of the Aedes aegypti dengue vector and its deleterious outcomes in children underlines the importance of this paper.

This case series suggests a unique clinical pattern of neuro-inflammation in Jamaican adolescents occurring during the ZIKV epidemic and questions the role of the three circulating arboviruses in the pathogenesis.

The Zika outbreak and its potential association with severe neurological syndromes was declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization. An abrupt increase in the incidence of otherwise infrequent acute neurological syndromes is described in Jamaica.

The study evaluated a combined antigen-antibody based test for rapid, sensitive and specific diagnostic methodology comparable to polymerase chain reaction. The approach was found to be highly sensitive, specific, user-friendly, compact, frugal and thus, suitable for use in dengue outbreaks, field conditions and as bed-side diagnostic tests, for confirmation of dengue outbreaks in resource-limited facilities.

Primary data were collected to examine symptomatic differences by age group and to assess differences between those exposed and unexposed to chikungunya virus.