We investigated the consequences of maternal infection with varicella-zoster virus in a prospective study of 43 pregnancies complicated by varicella and 14 pregnancies complicated by herpes zoster. Nine of 43 pregnant women with varicella had associated morbidity--pneumonia (4 women), death (1), premature labor (4 of 42), premature delivery (2 of 42), and herpes zoster (1). Intrauterine varicella infection was identified on the basis of clinical evidence (anomalies characteristic of the congenital varicella syndrome, acute varicella at birth, or herpes zoster in infancy) or immunologic evidence (IgM antibody to varicella-zoster in the neonatal period, persistent IgG antibody to varicella-zoster at one to two years of age, or in vitro lymphocyte proliferation in response to varicella-zoster virus antigen). The congenital varicella syndrome occurred in 1 of 11 infants of women with first-trimester varicella. Immunologic evidence of intrauterine varicella infection was present in 7 of 33 infants tested; 4 of these infants were asymptomatic. According to clinical or immunologic criteria, 8 of 33 infants had evidence of intrauterine varicella infection. These observations show that varicella during pregnancy was associated with maternal morbidity and evidence of fetal infection, but that herpes zoster was not.
This article has been cited by other articles:
Kurlan, J. G., Connelly, B. L., Lucky, A. W.
(2004). Herpes Zoster in the First Year of Life Following Postnatal Exposure to Varicella-zoster Virus: Four Case Reports and a Review of Infantile Herpes Zoster. Arch Dermatol
140: 1268-1272
[Abstract][Full Text]
Mohsen, A.H., McKendrick, M.
(2003). Varicella pneumonia in adults. Eur Respir J
21: 886-891
[Abstract][Full Text]
Lim, W S, Macfarlane, J T, Colthorpe, C L
(2001). Respiratory diseases in pregnancy {bullet} 2: Pneumonia and pregnancy. Thorax
56: 398-405
[Full Text]
Bhatia, P, Bhatia, K
(2000). Pregnancy and the lungs. Postgrad. Med. J.
76: 683-689
[Full Text]
Donovan, C. E, Finn, P. W
(1999). Immune mechanisms of childhood asthma. Thorax
54: 938-946
[Full Text]
Mustonen, K., Mustakangas, P., Smeds, M., Mannonen, L., Uotila, L., Vaheri, A., Koskiniemi, M.
(1998). Antibodies to varicella zoster virus in the cerebrospinal fluid of neonates with seizures. Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed.
78: 57F-61
[Abstract][Full Text]
Seidman, D. S, Stevenson, D. K, Arvin, A. M
(1996). Varicella vaccine in pregnancy. BMJ
313: 701-702
[Full Text]
AL-QATTAN, M. M., THOMSON, H. G.
(1995). Congenital Varicella of the Upper Limb: A preventable disaster. J Hand Surg Eur Vol
20: 115-117
[Abstract]
Bassett, D.C.J., Pastuszak, A. L., Koren, G.
(1994). Varicella Infection in Pregnancy. NEJM
331: 482-482
[Full Text]
Lebel, R. R.
(1994). Routine Childhood Varicella Vaccination. JAMA
271: 1906-1906
[Abstract]
Stirrat, G M
(1994). Pregnancy and immunity. BMJ
308: 1385-1385
[Full Text]
Pastuszak, A. L., Levy, M., Schick, B., Zuber, C., Feldkamp, M., Gladstone, J., Bar-Levy, F., Jackson, E., Donnenfeld, A., Meschino, W., Koren, G.
(1994). Outcome after Maternal Varicella Infection in the First 20 Weeks of Pregnancy. NEJM
330: 901-905
[Abstract][Full Text]
Kjersem, H., Jepsen, S.
(1990). Varicella Among Immigrants from the Tropics, a Health Problem. Scand J Public Health
18: 171-174
[Abstract]
Green, S. T., Nathwani, D., Goldberg, D. J., Kingdom, J. C. P.
(1990). Public Health Policy on Varicella Infection. JAMA
263: 1495-1495
[Abstract]
Hollingsworth, H. M., Pratter, M. R., Irwin, R. S.
(1989). Acute Respiratory Failure in Pregnancy. J Intensive Care Med
4: 11-34
[Abstract]
Lambert, S. R., Taylor, D., Kriss, A., Holzel, H., Heard, S.
(1989). Ocular Manifestations of the Congenital Varicella Syndrome. Arch Ophthalmol
107: 52-56
[Abstract]
STRAUS, S. E., OSTROVE, J. M., INCHAUSPE, G., FELSER, J. M., FREIFELD, A., CROEN, K. D., SAWYER, M. H.
(1988). Varicella-Zoster Virus Infections: Biology, Natural History, Treatment, and Prevention. ANN INTERN MED
108: 221-237
[Abstract]
Previous
