Congenital Rubella and Thrombocytopenia: Report of Two Cases with Initial and Follow-up Viral Cultures

Recent advances have made it possible to isolate rubella virus from affected persons and to propagate the virus in tissue culture. The virus may be identified by the unique cytopathogenic changes in human amnion tissue culture by interference with ECHO virus type 11 in monkey kidney tissue culture. Thus an even closer correlation between an active rubella infection in the mother in the first trimester of pregnancy and the clinical findings of the rubella syndrome is now feasible. The rubella epidemic of 1964 can be expected to produce significant numbers of infants with the congenital rubella syndrome. This paper reports the clinical history of two cases of rubella associated with thrombocytopenia in the newborn.