To judge by the number of conferences, symposia, and publications, the subject of congenital infection has become an area of intense interest and concern.
The reasons are many. While formerly considered unusual events, mostly of academic interest, it is now clearly established that prenatal infections occur with considerable frequency. They may result in abortion, fetal death, or obvious disease in the newborn, or in apparent infection that carries with it a considerable risk of central nervous system damage, or the late appearance of diseases of other organs such as the eye and the liver. Furthermore, the study of infectious disease