Early infection may result in marked changes.
The resulting damage may be so severe as to cause an early abortion or the death of the foetus during later pregnancy or during or shortly after birth. Some infants are born blind or mentally retarded. The infection can affect the brain, the liver.the eye or other foetal tissues.
The child may be born, appear normal and then, in the first few weeks of life, show signs of infection. Involvement of the brain may lead to convulsions or muscular twitchings. Obstruction to the flow of cerebrospinal fluid through the brain can result in the condition of hydrocephalus, where there is enlargement of the head.
Treatment of this condition is effective in acquired cases but gives poorer results when damage to various tissues has occurred where the infection has developed in the womb.
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