VARICELLA TESTER VIRUS-INFECTION DURING PREGNANCY - THE LIMITS OF PRENATAL-DIAGNOSIS

In a mother with clinical evidence of chicken-pox at 12.5 weeks, fetal herpes varicella tester infection was revealed by transient fetal asc ites with liver calcifications at 27 weeks routine ultrasound. At 27 a nd 35 weeks fetal blood sampling and amniocentesis failed to demonstra te fetal viral infection. However, the diagnosis was confirmed postnat ally based on thoracic herpes tester at 8 months in an otherwise healt hy infant. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on stored amniotic cells pe rformed retrospectively was positive for varicella tester virus (HVZV) . This observation suggests that (1) in contrast to PCR, conventional fetal biology lacks sensitivity for prenatal diagnosis of HVZV infecti on, (2) the association of fetal sonographic abnormalities and positiv e amniotic PCR can be associated with a favorable pediatric outcome. T herefore, prenatal diagnosis of HVZV infection should be considered wi th the greatest caution.