Congenital rubella syndrome in late infancy

A group of 109 Philadelphia infants with congenital abnormalities presumably caused by rubella was analyzed for various features. Isolation data showed that only a few infants had virus present in the throat and cerebrospinal fluid by 1 year of age (9% and 4%, respectively). Recovery of virus from lens material obtained at surgery, however, was frequent, even in patients 18 months old. The neutralizing-antibody test was found useful in the retrospective diagnosis of rubella syndrome. A titer of 1:4 or greater in infants older than 6 months was 94% accurate in identifying intrauterine infection. The complement-fixation test was less useful.