The Zika baby crisis.

This BBC Panorama special explores the 2015/6 Zika virus outbreak, most significantly affecting Brazil, in which new-born babies are born with brain damage and microcephaly. Reporter Jane Corbin visits Juliana Candido and Jobson Freitas, parents of a six-week-old baby with microcephaly in Northern Brazil. Dr Vanessa van der Linden recounts how she first discovered there was an outbreak of the virus. Dr Regina Coeli then discusses the possibilities of an infection working in tandem with Zika that could be exacerbating the symptoms of the virus during pregnancy. Edernalia da Silva recounts her experiences of pregnancy whilst having contracted Zika. Corbin visits Professor Laura Rodrigues, who is heading a study on the virus in Recife, Northern Brazil. She then attends an interview with Adanilda Lima, one of the pregnant women participating in the study. Next, Corbin visits a six-year-old boy with microcephaly contracted from a genetic disorder. His father, Manuel Santos, ponders how the Brazilian government will be able to provide for the increasing number of families with disability needs, since the most recent Zika epidemic. Candido and Freitas discuss their hopes for their baby’s future. Corbin talks to Recife’s Health Commissioner Dr Jailson Correia about why the city was such a prime target for the virus, and what needs to be done to stop it spreading further. Corbin shadows Local Health Director Maria Eugenia on a Zika education campaign through a local favela. She then visits Entymologist Cecilia Kosman, who is conducting a field trial that releases genetically modified mosquitoes that are self-limiting. Karla Tepidino explains. Edernalia da Silva is revisited since the birth of her child, who has contracted microcephaly. Da Silva recounts her experiences since her baby’s birth, accompanied by her partner Christiano da Silva and mother-in-law Damiana da Silva. Rodrigues discusses the possibility that the Zika epidemic might open doors to reconsidering legalising abortion. Finally, she predicts that the Zika virus will be prominent in Brazil for many more years.