Type B-2 coxsackievirus meningitis in pregnancy. A case report.

Although enteroviral meningitis complicating pregnancy is a rare occurrence, it can lead to serious antenatal and neonatal complications. The majority of neonatal enteroviral infections are transmitted from a perinatally infected mother. We treated a woman for type B-2 coxsackievirus meningitis diagnosed in pregnancy. Three weeks after the acute maternal infection was diagnosed, a preterm neonate with no evidence of enteroviral infection was delivered. The neonate had no detectable IgM or virus-specific IgG at birth and later demonstrated IgG seroconversion to the coxsackievirus isolated from the mother. Intrapartum or postpartum exposure to the coxsackievirus is the suspected mode of transmission. Other factors in addition to passively acquired virus-specific IgG may offer neonatal protection to fetuses exposed to perinatal enteroviral infections.