Neonates, especially premature neonates who require intensive medical care, are among the patients at highest risk for nosocomial or health care–associated infections (HAIs). Although the rate of HAIs varies with the specific patient population and institution, many institutions have achieved…
Fungal infections, other than those caused by Candida spp., rarely are considered in the differential diagnosis for an acutely ill newborn infant because disorders of bacterial and viral etiology are vastly more common. Nevertheless, fungal infections do occur in neonates,…
Candida species are important pathogens in the neonate. After a significant increase in the incidence of systemic candidiasis in neonatal intensive care (NICU) patients in the late 1990s, since 2000 the incidence has remained stable or even decreased slightly. However,…
Parasitic infections are highly prevalent in many developing areas of the world and are common among pregnant women in developed countries. They may exacerbate maternal and fetal anemia, and contribute to low birth weight and poor infant survival. The placenta…
Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide, intracellular protozoan parasite that can infect humans and almost all warm-blooded animals. Among the fetal and neonatal pathogens, T. gondii is certainly one of the most: ▪ Widespread, because it affects one third of the…
Human Papillomavirus Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the most common cause of sexually transmitted infection in the United States, with approximately 14 million new infections annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These DNA viruses are the…
∗ Drs. Louis Cooper and Charles Alford, Jr., previously contributed to this chapter. § References . ‖ References . The impact of rubella virus infection and the progress made toward controlling congenital rubella infection have been well chronicled. Rubella was…
The parvoviruses are a family of single-stranded DNA viruses that have a wide cellular tropism and broad host range, causing infection in invertebrate species and vertebrates, from insects to mammals. Although many parvoviruses are important veterinary pathogens, there are only…
Neonatal herpes simplex virus infection (HSV) was identified as a distinct disease in the 1930s. The first written descriptions of neonatal HSV were attributed to Hass, who described the histopathologic findings of a fatal case, and to Batignani, who described…
Knowledge about the hepatotropic viruses has grown dramatically in the past century, with contributions from clinicians, molecular virologists, immunologists, and pharmacologists. Hepatotropic viruses (hepatitis A through G viruses and torque teno virus [TTV]) are not a common cause of neonatal…