Question
Identify the fetal infection derived from mother by body parts affected as shown by the boxes in the picture below ?
A. Congenital Toxoplasmosis.
B. Congenital Rubella.
C. Congenital CMV.
D. Congenital Syphilis.
Show Answer
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Correct Answer » B Explanation |
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Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) results in a range of transient abnormalities at birth, which need not concern us now.
- Congenital defects including :
- Sensorineural deafness,
- Congenital heart disease,
- Cataract,
- Choroidoretinitis,
- Growth retardation,
- Microcephaly,
- Mental retardation and
- Urogenital abnormalities.
- Delayed consequences include:
- Diabetes,
- Thyroid disorders,
- Behavioural disorders and
- Panencephalitis.
About 40% of children weighed less than 2.5 kg at birth, and most failed to catch up with their peers subsequently.
Congenital rubella is characterised by:
- Persistent viraemia, and virus can be cultured from the throat, tears and urine of affected children at birth.
- Viral shedding cannot be detected after 1 year of age in 90% of cases but may sometimes persist for years.
- Diagnosis is based upon detection of virus or rubella-specific antibody in early infancy.
- Infection of the placental tissue and fetus is almost inevitable when infection occurs within the first 2 months of pregnancy, and 67–85% of confirmed first trimester infections lead to some form of fetal damage.
- Virus penetrates almost all tissues and, once established, persists throughout gestation, even though the fetus can mount an effective immunoglobulin response and is additionally protected by maternal IgG following the acute phase of the infection.
- Neonates with the syndrome have impaired cell-mediated immunity, and persistent infection within lymphocytes is believed to explain the failure to clear the virus.
