[Current infectious pathology in infants].

Examination of a large autopsy material from children's hospitals in Leningrad for 1978-1979 established a very high relative frequency of infectious diseases in fatal cases. Compared with previous years, there is a change in the ratio of different diseases: a decrease in the rate of well known and relatively readily diagnosed bacterial diseases and an increase in viral infections and mycoplasmosis with less marked macroscopic features. Various acute respiratory infections occurred more frequently (in 68.2% of deaths), viral infections and mycoplasmosis being prevalent among them. Bacterial pneumonias occurred less frequently. There was a significant proportion of intrauterine infections diagnosed in 26.6% of children, with mycoplasmosis and viral infections (respiratory, herpes, cytomegalovirus, etc.) being predominant. Mycoplasmosis may be important in the development of congenital malformations. Other infectious diseases are analysed, including those with the predominant involvement of the alimentary tract, central nervous system, etc. Combined infections are noted to be very important. The author's own data are compared with those from other reports presented at the 2nd All-Union Conference of Childhood Pathologists.