Schwartz and colleagues say that mpox has the ability to reach and then cross the placenta to infect the fetus prior to delivery following spread of the virus through the mother’s bloodstream. They provide insight about how mpox can infect the fetus and describe details of a stillborn with placental infection, define and illustrate the Congenital Mpox Syndrome, and discuss mechanisms of intrauterine mpox transmission.ĭr.

Schwartz, MD, MS Hyg, FCAP, a leading perinatal and infectious disease pathology expert, together with five colleagues, evaluated the pathophysiology of mpox in pregnancy, comparing it with smallpox and other poxviruses. Mpox was known to infect pregnant persons in Africa, producing a 75 percent perinatal fatality rate.ĭavid A. Now known as mpox, this poxvirus is related to the now-eradicated smallpox virus. 1, 2023–Contracting the monkeypox virus (mpox) while pregnant can cause Congenital Mpox Syndrome, placental infection, and stillbirth, according to an article posted online in Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, the scientific journal published by the College of American Pathologists (CAP).

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