Social and economic impacts of Zika virus infection in Brazil (360G-Wellcome-206016_Z_16_Z)

This proposal is for a two-site study in Brazil, focussing on Recife, where Zika virus (ZIKV) is highly endemic, and Rio de Janeiro, where it has been less common up until now. We plan to use mixed methods to assess the social and economic impacts of ZIKV at the individual (mother), family and societal level, by collecting quantitative, economic and qualitative data. The focus of the proposal is on Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS), given the great expertise of the applicants in this area. Outputs will include scientific papers on the social and economic impacts of ZIKV at the individual and societal level and a stakeholder workshop. This application is being submitted by a multi-disciplinary group, which includes epidemiologists, economists and anthropologists. We are requesting supplementary funding for the two sites where fieldwork is ongoing and where we have full access to pregnant women and families of children with microcephaly and other manifestations of CZS. In Recife, the cohort study is conducted by the Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group (MERG) who have been leaders of the research response to ZIKV; and in Rio de Janeiro this is the urban Rio de Janeiro component of the cohort that reported preliminary results in the NEJM.1 The two cohorts use the same standardized protocols, and the two diverse sites will allow us to investigate if the impacts are similar in different settings. Quantitative and economic data will be collected within the cohorts and these data will be complemented by qualitative data collected from a range of people affected by ZIKV and key stakeholders. The overall funding requested is £299,965 over 12 months, of which £90,000 is for each of the 2 sites and £85,880 for the LSHTM, £26,085 for international travel, and £8,000 for workshop costs in Brazil.