NEW light has recently been thrown on the etiologic factors involved in certain congenital malformations by three series of cases reported from Australia, in which virus infections, particularly German measles occurring early in pregnancy, seemed to be definitely related to the congenital defects.
In 1941, Gregg1 reported a series of 78 cases of congenital cataract in infants whose mothers had had German measles early in pregnancy. Congenital heart disease was also present in 44 of these infants. Later Swan2 and his co-workers confirmed the findings of the earlier study and reported a series of 49 cases of rubella during all stages of pregnancy, in 25 of which the rubella occurred in the first two months. Of a total of 31 children with congenital malformations, there were 17 with congenital cardiac lesions, 14 with congenital eye defects, 1 with mongolism, several with microcephaly, hypospadias and mental retardation and 7 deaf-mutes. Many of the infants had several defects. In a