Talk:Paper - Rubella in pregnancy and congenital defects (1947)

Rubella in Pregnancy and Congenital Defects

Sir,—Because of the interest taken in this association this single case may be worth publishing. It was the mother’s first pregnancy and resulted in a normal full-term delivery, birth weight, 5 lb. 9 oz. (2.5 kg.). The boy was born on Jan. 14, 1947, and was seen for the first time a month later at an infant welfare centre in South London, when his mother was having considerable difficulty in getting him to suck satisfactorily. He was found to have bilateral cataracts and a loud systolic. murmur heard over the whole left chest; he was never cyanosed. He May 17, 1947

CORRESPONDENCE

BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL

695

reacts sluggishly and appears to be deaf. He has progressed slowly and is now, at the end of April, 8 lb. 10 oz. (3.88 kg.). The father is 29 and healthy. His sister had rheumatic carditis at the age of 14 and his father had a “ displaced heart,” which never made him ill. The mother is 22 and robust. On inquiring about her health during the pregnancy she said that she was very well except that she “caught German measles from her sister during the first month.” The attack had apparently been mild and had not made her feel at all unwell. The Wassermann reaction, taken at the antenatal clinic, was negative. Her sister and the other members of her family, father and mother, are all well—I am, etc., London, S.E.21. G. D. Pirie.