EMERGING INFECTIONS AND PREGNANCY

Monday, 6th of October 2014

[source]Emerging Infectious Diseases[|source]

Although knowledge of the immunology of pregnancy has evolved tremendously over the past decade, many unanswered questions remain, such as how immune function is altered during pregnancy and how this alteration may affect susceptibility to and severity of infectious diseases. Although the effects of some infectious agents during pregnancy are well known, knowledge about many others is limited.

In this study, the authors describe the immunologic changes that may affect the course of infectious diseases in pregnant women, briefly summarize what is known about infectious diseases during pregnancy, and then focus on the particular challenges of dealing with emerging infectious diseases in pregnant women. The report concludes that changes in immune function during pregnancy alter a pregnant woman s susceptibility to and severity of certain infectious diseases. Detailed description of the immunological changes, challenges posed by the changes and potential effects of bioterrorism are available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3372330/?report=reader

 

ABSTRACT

A key component of the response to emerging infections is consideration of special populations, including pregnant women. Successful pregnancy depends on adaptation of the woman s immune system to tolerate a genetically foreign fetus. Although the immune system changes are not well understood, a shift from cell-mediated immunity toward humoral immunity is believed to occur. These immunologic changes may alter susceptibility to and severity of infectious diseases in pregnant women. For example, pregnancy may increase susceptibility to toxoplasmosis and listeriosis and may increase severity of illness and increase mortality rates from influenza and varicella. Compared with information about more conventional disease threats, information about emerging infectious diseases is quite limited. Pregnant women s altered response to infectious diseases should be considered when planning a response to emerging infectious disease threats.