title: The diagnosis of congenital infections: contemporary strategies.
abstract: Congenital infections remain an important source of neurologic, ophthalmologic, and audiologic disability for thousands of children throughout the world. This review summarizes the clinical features and describes contemporary approaches to the microbiologic diagnosis of congenital infections. In particular, this review emphasizes the important roles that molecular methods, especially the polymerase chain reaction, have in detecting the many infectious agents capable of damaging the developing nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, USA.
authors.forename: I E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Bale
mesh_terms: D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000151:congenital* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007239:Infections / Q000151:congenital* / Q000175:diagnosis; D008828:Microbiological Techniques; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D012698:Serologic Tests