Review : Maternal and Congenital Rubella

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Abstract
Although it is certainly a childhood dis ease, many a pediatrician completes his resi dency having seen none or only a few cases of typical rubella. Despite this lack of ex perience he is likely to be invited by an internist or obstetrician to see a patient (often pregnant) with possible rubella or who has been exposed to the disease. On the advice of the consulting pediatrician, the pregnancy may be terminated or may be allowed to go to completion. In the latter case, he may eventually be called upon to evaluate the infant for evidence of con genital rubella. To handle such a situation intelligently, it is necessary to have a thorough under standing of the clinical features and epi demiology of postnatal rubella, the special circumstances involved with infection of mother and fetus, and the current status of methods for diagnosis, treatment, and pre vetition of infection.