West Indian Babies with Multiple Congenital Defects

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Abstract
Twenty-four West Indian babies with multiple congenital abnormalities have been seen, and similar cases have been observed in the Hackney area of London (R. J. K. Brown, 1962, personal communication). Immigrants from the West Indies may be exposed to rubella for the first time when they enter this country. The attack rate is difficult to assess as the disease is so easily overlooked. Constitutional symptoms may be slight and the fleeting rash may be hidden by a dark skin, but fetal damage is not dependent on the severity of the mother''s infection (Gregg et al., 1945), and the clinical features exhibited by the babies are strongly suggestive of maternal rubella. The tendency of West Indian babies to multiple severe defects is noteworthy.