An infant with congenital rubella syndrome in developing India.

Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), caused by rubella virus infection during pregnancy, remains a public health concern in developing countries. Three to five per cent of all suspected CRS cases in India have been proven to be a rubella infection. Only about 45%-60% of pregnant women and infants in India receive the rubella vaccination. We present a case of a preterm female infant who tested positive for the rubella virus. The baby was born with low birth weight and, on examination, showed pallor and hepatosplenomegaly. She was detected to have an ostium secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) and a large patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) on echocardiography. On ophthalmic examination, she was diagnosed with bilateral cataract. She was treated with diuretics, and she underwent surgical correction for PDA. With this case we intend to present the literature, clinical manifestations and management of CRS. We will also focus on prevention, vaccination and disease burden in India..

Investigation of parvovirus B19 in cardiac tissue from patients with congenital heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation between human parvovirus B19 (HPV-B19) and congenital heart (CHD) and to investigate the teratogenic effect of HPV-B19. METHODS: A case control study was conducted to investigate the embedded autopsy cardiac tissues of 29 cases of CHD and 30 controls without CHD with nest polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Other viruses, including herpes simplex virus (HSV). Toxoplasma gondii (TOX), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and rubella virus (RV) were also studied in 10 cases of each group with corresponding PCR kits. RESULTS: Five of 29 (17.2%) CHD cases were positive for HPV-B19, while all the 30 controls were negative for HPV-B19 (P=0.0237). All cases studied were negative for both HSV and TOX. Three cases in each group were positive for CMV, with presence of HPV-B19 DNA in 2 cases in the CHD group. Only two cases in the CHD group showed positive reaction for RV. CONCLUSIONS: As far as we know, it is the first report of the presence of HPV-B19 in cardiac tissues of CHD patients. The detection rate of HPV-B19 DNA is significantly different between the two groups, inferring that HPV-B19 might be correlated with CHD.