The effects of congenital rubella on the neonate.

Asymptomatic rubella occurring in mothers may be mild or clinically unapparent, yet cross the placental barrier. The Baylor Group, through intensive clinical and virological studies, led the country in the identification of an expanded CRS. The group concluded that congenital heart, ear, eye, and CNS structural involvements were the result of especially acute manifestations of ordinary congenital rubella. Neurological disorders of the neonate previously ascribed to unknown etiologies were found to be secondary to rubella encephalitis. The ongoing occurrence of sub-acute maternal rubella may therefore be responsible for innumerable cases of neurological deficiencies in the neonate. Although immunization against rubella was not effective until after the actual outbreak of the 1964 epidemic, the Baylor Group served to decelerate a health crisis through rapid, coordinated efforts. Alerted to the possibility of a more diverse CRS, the group prevented prolongation of the epidemic with appropriate treatment of infected neonates.