Protozoan and helminth infections in pregnancy. Short-term and long-term implications of transmission of infection from mother to foetus.

This review of protozoan and helminth infections in pregnancy focuses on the impact on the immune response in the newborn infant to maternal infection. Studies of protozoan and helminth infections in pregnant women and in their offspring have shown that children exposed to antigens or microorganisms during pregnancy often have a reduced immune response to these infections. The most common finding is a reduced IFN gamma response to specific antigens regardless of specific infection studied. In some studies the impaired immune response disappeared before the age of one year, while in other studies the impaired immune response was present as much as two decades after birth. Data from chronic viral infections like Rubella, cytomegalovirus and hepatitis B also show that congenital or perinatal infections may result in a life-long inability to control the infections. Studies of both helminth and protozoan infections show that children exposed to antigens during gestation have a microorganism-specific impaired immune response which is characterized by reduced IFN-gamma and stimulation of responses to specific antigens.