ABSTRACT
A 5 1/2-yr-old boy presented with high grade fever for 4 days, and cervical adenitis, body ache, arthralgia, followed by sudden onset of breathlessness. He had clinical, electrocardiographic and echo evidence of myocarditis and congestive cardiac failure. An enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (MAC-IgM ELISA) with serum collected 5 days after disease onset showed IgM antibodies to CHIKV. He was managed conservatively and started showing symptomatic improvement by 3 days. At discharge, a repeat Echocardiogram (a week later) showed normal left ventricular (LV) function with mild Mitral regurgitation. On follow up, after 2 months, child remains asymptomatic. Other common aetiological agents were screened for and found negative. This may indicate a probable cardiac tropism for the virus.
ABSTRACT
Eighteen day old neonate presented with features of early neonatal sepsis. History of mother revealed a travel from non-endemic area of malaria to endemic area, and on the 7th gestational age mother detected as having malaria. She was treated with quinine and cured. Baby was also evaluated for congenital malaria in first few neonatal days and discharged. Now the baby on evaluation shows anemia, hepatosplenomegaly and diagnosed with a Plasmodium vivax infection on peripheral smear. The quinine failed to prevent transplacental transmission. Prolonged interval between birth and onset of symptoms may be explained by transmission late in pregnancy or during delivery or by presence of transplacentally acquired maternal antibody (IgG). Mother acquired malarial infection after travel to an endemic area and transmitted to the baby. A high level of suspicion is warranted in babies of malaria infected mothers even when the neonate peripheral smear shows no evidence of infection.