To the Editor: The "Editor's Comment" question following Dr. O'Neil's paper (October, 1962) on congenital varicella prompts this letter.
We have had two instances of congenital varicella where exposure of the nursery population took place to some degree. In one it seems likely that the varicella could be considered to be in the infectious stage, and, in the other, the infant may have been past the infectious stage. None of the exposed infants (approximately 35 in both cases) contracted varicella.
The first infant, in 1951, was born of a gravida I, para O, 16-year-old mother who had evidenced the first pox lesions three days prior to delivery. Multiple lesions were present on the trunk and extremities. Some were crusting but many were still rather wet. The infant had typical vesicular lesions on the face, shoulders, and arms. The infant was admitted to the general obstetric nursery in the afternoon of