[Problems of intra-uterine infections (author's transl)]

Mental and/or physical defects are recordable from seven or eight per cent of all children. While many causes may be responsible, some of them are associated with intra-uterine infections. Aetiological relationship between intra-uterine infection and embryonic or foetal damage has been studied in greater detail and secured so far only for some pathogens. These are quite often grouped under the acronym of TORCH (T = toxoplasmosis, O = others, including syphilis, listeriosis, and varicella, R = rubella, C = cytomegalovirus, H = herpes simplex). The following complexes are also related to the problem of intra-uterine infections: prevention of the infection in pregnant women and thus embryos (primary prevention), diagnosis of certain infections during pregnancy and resulting steps (secondary prevention) as well as early diagnosis and therapy of newborns for congenital infections. Every pregnant woman should be included in a screening scheme for detection of rubella, toxoplasmosis, and, possibly, cytomegalovirus infection, somewhat comparable to what has been general practice for syphilis for a long time. Better methods actually are available for such schemes, against the background of more or less recently devised approaches to diagnosis, such as the ELISA technique by which to identify specific IgM antibodies.