Congenital infection.

The past year has shed much new light on congenital infection. A key development has been the application of polymerase chain reaction technology to the diagnosis of intrauterine infection. This technique appears to be the diagnostic tool of choice for toxoplasmosis and cytomegalovirus. Pharmacologic treatment appears to reduce the sequellae of toxoplasmosis when treated either in utero or postnatally. Obstetric interventions may reduce vertical transmission. Education has been shown to reduce the incidence of seroconversion for toxoplasmosis, and HIV-positive women treated with zidovudine have a dramatically reduced rate of transmission to their offspring.