Neuroinfectious Diseases in Pregnancy

Pregnancy is associated with impaired T-cell-mediated immunity putting the woman at risk for infectious diseases not typically seen in immunocompetent individuals. When maternal infection is severe, and when a primary herpesvirus infection is acquired during pregnancy, there is a risk of fetal loss, maternal death, neonatal death, or congenital abnormalities from intrauterine infection. In this review, the authors emphasize specific neurologic infectious diseases that occur in pregnancy, the safety of the antimicrobial therapy of these diseases during pregnancy, as well as the congenital and neonatal sequelae of infection.