Dr. R. Lundstrom, Eskilstuna, Sweden: The Maternity Welfare Centers in Sweden provide women without a known history of rubella and pregnant up to 14 weeks with convalescent γ-globulin, or, when this is not available, ordinary γ-globulin as a prophylactic after exposure to rubella cases. Some women have been treated in spite of appearing with manifest rubella. This is, according to earlier experience, of no benefit in the prevention of congenital defects. The high incidence of rubella defects is apparent in Table 1.
The majority of the women in the group illustrated by Table 2 and 3 reported exposure to rubella within five days prior to the administration of γ-globulin and rubella convalescent immune globulin, respectively.
The incidence of defects, commonly ascribed to maternal rubella, in the offspring of the treated women, not presenting with apparent rubella after treatment, did not exceed that which could be expected in the average population;