NurseRatchet
12-20-02, 08:10
Link to ProMed (http://www.promedmail.org/pls/askus/f?p=2400:1001:474284::NO::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2 400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,20163)
Intrauterine Transmission of West Nile Virus
--------------------------------------------
A month-old baby with West Nile virus [contracted infection] before she was
born in the country's first documented intrauterine transmission of the
disease, according to a report. The case surprised health officials who had
believed the disease could not be passed from pregnant mothers to their
unborn children, the Post-Standard of Syracuse reported on Thu 19 Dec 2002.
The 20-year-old mother, a resident of this central New York city, was
admitted to a hospital on 29 Aug 2002 with fever, headaches, blurred vision
and other symptoms that weren't attributed to West Nile virus infection.
She was released a week later, but diagnosed [West Nile virus-positive]
when she was readmitted on 24 Sep 2002, the paper reported. The woman gave
birth at full-term in November 2002, and tests on her daughter's spinal
fluid and umbilical cord blood showed West Nile infection, said Dr. Lloyd
Novick, Onondaga County health commissioner. The baby has a number of
health complications, he told the paper. The baby's life is not in danger,
but the virus or its complications may have caused problems affecting the
infant's central nervous system, according to county health officials.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site
as of Wed 18 Dec 2002, there was no evidence that West Nile virus can be
transmitted during pregnancy or birth. The CDC has documented 6 cases of
West Nile virus infection in pregnant women. None of the women or children
died. A case of West Nile virus infection in a Michigan infant was
attributed to breast-feeding from the mother, who was infected with the
virus through a blood transfusion shortly after giving birth, according to
the CDC.
"We're not recommending screening of pregnant mothers," said Novick, whose
department reported the Syracuse case to the CDC. "But since this is the
first time this has happened, people have to be clinically aware of the
possibility in the future."
Intrauterine Transmission of West Nile Virus
--------------------------------------------
A month-old baby with West Nile virus [contracted infection] before she was
born in the country's first documented intrauterine transmission of the
disease, according to a report. The case surprised health officials who had
believed the disease could not be passed from pregnant mothers to their
unborn children, the Post-Standard of Syracuse reported on Thu 19 Dec 2002.
The 20-year-old mother, a resident of this central New York city, was
admitted to a hospital on 29 Aug 2002 with fever, headaches, blurred vision
and other symptoms that weren't attributed to West Nile virus infection.
She was released a week later, but diagnosed [West Nile virus-positive]
when she was readmitted on 24 Sep 2002, the paper reported. The woman gave
birth at full-term in November 2002, and tests on her daughter's spinal
fluid and umbilical cord blood showed West Nile infection, said Dr. Lloyd
Novick, Onondaga County health commissioner. The baby has a number of
health complications, he told the paper. The baby's life is not in danger,
but the virus or its complications may have caused problems affecting the
infant's central nervous system, according to county health officials.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site
as of Wed 18 Dec 2002, there was no evidence that West Nile virus can be
transmitted during pregnancy or birth. The CDC has documented 6 cases of
West Nile virus infection in pregnant women. None of the women or children
died. A case of West Nile virus infection in a Michigan infant was
attributed to breast-feeding from the mother, who was infected with the
virus through a blood transfusion shortly after giving birth, according to
the CDC.
"We're not recommending screening of pregnant mothers," said Novick, whose
department reported the Syracuse case to the CDC. "But since this is the
first time this has happened, people have to be clinically aware of the
possibility in the future."