Despite widespread vaccination, there are still breakthroughs of varicella (commonly known as chicken pox). Let's dive into this episode of our TORCH series.

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This episode was written by Dr. Tammy Yau and Lidia Park, with content support from Dr. Ritu Cheema. Drs. Tammy and Lidia take full responsibility for any errors or misinformation.

Key points:

-Transplacental varicella transmission can lead to congenital varicella syndrome which includes dermatomal rash, cicatrix, limb hypoplasia, microcephaly, and cataracts

-Use Acyclovir to treat neonates and pregnant people with active varicella infection. Congenital varicella syndrome does not require treatment.

-Varicella immunoglobulin can be used to prevent infection in certain cases including exposed neonates 5 days before delivery and 2 days after delivery.

Sources:

VZV in Newborns: Neoreviews (2016) 17 (9): e507–e514. https://doi.org/10.1542/neo.17-9-e507

TORCH infections: Pediatr Rev (2011) 32 (12): 537–542. https://doi.org/10.1542/pir.32-12-537