Intrauterine Fetal Death due to Echovirus 11

Abstract

In a case of intrauterine fetal death in the 29th week of gestation, echovirus 11 could be isolated from the umbilical cord of the fetus. The mother had no apparent signs of infection but serological evidence of current echovirus 11 infection. Enterovirus PCR performed on paraffin-embedded specimens of various tissues (myocardium, lung, liver and placenta) from the fetus yielded positive results in all cases. These findings, together with supporting serological and epidemiological findings - e.g. proven echovirus 11 infection 3 weeks before in the 18–month-old son of the woman - constituted strong evidence that echovirus 11 infection was responsible for the fetal death.