Establishing the teratogenicity of Zika and evaluating causal criteria

The teratogenicity of the Zika virus was considered established in 2016, and is an interesting case because three different sets of causal criteria were used to assess teratogenicity. This paper appeals to the thesis of Russo and Williamson (Int Stud Philos Sci 21(2):157-170, 2007) to devise an epistemological framework that can be used to compare and evaluate sets of causal criteria. The framework can also be used to decide when enough criteria are satisfied to establish causality. Arguably, the three sets of causal criteria considered here offer only a rudimentary assessment of mechanistic studies, and some suggestions are made as to alternative ways to establish causality.

Automated summary

This paper examines the teratogenicity of the Zika virus and discusses the issue by comparing and evaluating three different sets of causal criteria, proposing an epistemological framework for establishing causality.