Herpes babies.
Cesarean sections are not a blanket herpes preventive for babies born to mothers with active genital herpes, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.Katherine M. Stone and her colleagues collected data on U.S. babies born with herpes from October 1983 through March 1985. Ten of 190 babies reported to the Atlanta-based agency had gotten the disease, which has a two year survival rate of about 60 percent, despite having been delivered by cesarean section to keep the baby from encountering the virus in the birth canal.
Cesarean sections can and do prevent most cases of neonatal herpes, Stone says, but adds, "The important thing is that there are other modes of transmission." Possibilities include the virus crossing the placenta or getting into the amniotic fluid, or a person with a cold sore kissing the baby, she says.
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| Title Annotation: | cesarean section can't prevent all cases of neonatal herpes |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Science News |
| Date: | Oct 12, 1985 |
| Words: | 144 |
| Previous Article: | Cold-fighting cells. |
| Next Article: | Hepatitis B vaccine: onward and upward. |
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