Monday, October 26, 2009

Elaine Benes

You do an away rotation in obstetrics in Turkey and saw several cases of the disease shown above, which is rarely seen in the United States. 60-75% of these newborns are deaf, 10-20% have cardiac malformations, and 10-25% have CNS defects.

Challenge: What is it and why does it not exist in the United States?

Both images are in the public domain.

2 comments:

Toby said...

Congenital Rubella Syndrome. MMR Vaccine in US.

Craig said...

yes, nicely identified.
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Elaine Benes

The title refers to a Seinfeld episode "The Muffin Tops" where Elaine Benes starts a business selling only muffin tops. This is congenital rubella syndrome, unfortunately resulting in neonatal cataracts (first image) and a blueberry muffin baby (second image). Rubella, or German measles, is a togavirus that usually causes a self-limited infection transmitted by direct droplet contact from nasopharyngeal secretions. The vaccine is a live, attenuated virus.

Sources: UpToDate; phil.cdc.gov.