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The Congential Vericella Syndrome (CVS) Essay

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In most cases, a varicella zoster infection will lead to a case of chicken pox in children and in adults who are susceptible to the disease and not vaccinated but if a woman is infected during the early stages of pregnancy the fetus could be born with birth defects. Congenital Varicella Syndrome (CVS) is a rare but serious disease that affects about 2% of pregnancies exposed to the virus in the first trimester. The disease leads to low birth weight, skin and/or extremity abnormalities, and in very extreme cases defects of the brain, eyes, or other organs. The range of symptoms depends on what stage of fetal development the mother becomes infected. The first 20 weeks of gestation are crucial for normal fetal development, during this …show more content…

The virus can become latent and rest in the dorsal root ganglia of cells leading to a recurrent shingles disease (herpes zoster) in some healthy or immunocompromized adults. Newborns suffering from Congenital Varicella Syndrome are susceptible to development of Herpes zoster within the first two years of life. Shingles or herpes zoster is the reactivation of the VZV that had lane dormant within nerve tissue normally affecting the elderly or immunocompromized adults. The varicella vaccine used for prevention of the disease contains a live attenuated virus that can potentially cause disease especially in patients with weakened immune systems. The virus affects both male and female is spread through respiration or through direct contact with fluid from the vesicular pox lesions. During the first trimester the fetal immune system is underdeveloped and unable to protect the fetus from microorganisms passed through the cord blood. When the varicella virus enters the blood supply of a pregnant mother it can travel through the placenta and invade the nervous tissue of the developing fetus. The nerves most affected are the optic stalk and the cervical and lumbrosacral areas of the developing spinal cord. The compromised developing nervous tissue can lead to a reduced number of functional nerves or complete denervation of areas of tissue on the babies body, most affected are the eyes and the extremities. Researchers do not

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