Infection of the chickenpox occurs through contact or
droplets to infected people. Chickenpox is one of the most contagious
infections. It passes 90% to non-immune people in the same environment as
someone who had chickenpox. Patients are infectious from one day before the
rash to 6-7 days after. Contact with people who have had shingles is also
contagious and can cause chickenpox.
The incubation period of the chickenpox is 14 (10-20) days.
The day before typical rashes, there may be symptoms such as mild fever,
weakness, anorexia. The rash begins first in the form of a pink macule, a red
papule appears within a few hours, and immediately afterwards, erythematous
vesicles appear. The vesicle wall is thin and soft, easily tears. The clear
liquid in it turns cloudy in 12-24 hours, becomes pustule and then crust and
poured into brown scales. It does not leave a trace. While the first vesicle
disappears, new ones come out in 3-4 days. Thus, all lesions of the chickenpox
can be seen simultaneously.
Shingles is usually characterized by painful vesicular
lesions and pain in one or more than one adjacent dermatomes (nerve
distribution region) in the body.
Diagnosis:
If the mother has positive IgM antibodies or a 4-fold
increase in the IgG titer indicates that the new infection has been passed.
Only if the IgG is positive, the infection is past because IgM disappears a few
months after the infection. People who are both IgM and IgG negative are those
who have never encountered this virus and did not get sick and are susceptible
to infection because they are not immune, so they must be vaccinated before
pregnancy.
Although it is not usually needed for the diagnosis of the
disease, virus culture can be made from the fluid in the vesicles.
More information about the diagnosis of the disease in the
fetus is not available today.
Effects on
the baby during pregnancy:
There is no clear answer to the question whether pregnancy
should be terminated when chickenpox is passed during pregnancy. Taking
immunoglobulin to the infected mothers can make the disease more mild, but does
not prevent the passage to the baby. The infection passes to the baby at rates
as low as 1-2%. The majority of babies are not affected by this infection, but
especially in babies of those who have had the infection before 20 weeks of
gestation, anomalies such as severe brain and nervous system anomalies, eye and
skin anomalies, shortness in the legs, weakness in the muscles may occur
(congenital vericella infection). Therefore, careful follow-up of pregnancy and
detailed ultrasound examinations are required. Mother, father and doctor should
make the decision about termination of pregnancy or not.
Shingles infection during pregnancy does not pose a risk for
the baby.
Infection, which has a high risk for the baby, is an
infection that occurs between 5 days before birth and 2 days after birth. In
this case, the chickenpox infection develops at a high rate (20-60%) after
birth and death is observed in one third of these babies. Therefore, it is
beneficial to delay birth more than 5 days if possible if the mother has an
infection in the days close to birth. Immunoglobulin is recommended in the
presence of infection during these days close to birth.
Congenital
varicella syndrome:
- Chorioretinitis
- Microftalmi
- IUGR
- Skin and bone defects
- Cerebral cortical atrophy
Chickenpox
vaccine:
Since chickenpox vaccine is a weakened live vaccine, it
cannot be made during pregnancy.
People who are vaccinated against chickenpox are recommended
not to become pregnant for 1 month after vaccination and to be protected.
However, no abnormality was found in mothers and babies who became pregnant
during this period.
-URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS IN PREGNANCY
-DYSENTERY AND DIARRHEA IN PREGNANCY
-MUMPS IN PREGNANCY
-MEASLES IN PREGNANCY
