大象传媒

Three years ago, doctors in the north-east of Brazil noticed a worrying new trend - a spate of babies being born with abnormally small heads, or microcephaly. The cause was traced to an outbreak of the Zika virus earlier in 2015. More than 3,000 babies were born with significant disabilities, before the outbreak subsided and the Zika families withdrew from the forefront of people鈥檚 minds.

大象传媒 Brasil鈥檚 Julia Carneiro goes back to the state of Pernambuco to meet children affected by congenital Zika syndrome, who are now toddlers. She finds families who have been rocked by adversity but are sustained by a strong sense of solidarity, resilience and love.

One mother, Germana Soares, set up a support group for Zika-affected families called the United Mothers of Angels, or UMA for short. The mothers have bonded and call themselves 鈥済uerreiras鈥� 鈥� warriors. They wear T-shirts that say: 鈥淢icrocephaly is not the end.鈥�

While their battle is for support for their children, the doctors and scientists of the north-east are still desperate to learn more about the virus, and how it might be contained in the future.

(Photo: Cassiana kisses her daughter Melissa Victoria who has congenital Zika syndrome. Credit: Fernando Cavalcanti)