Lesser Known Disorders
Each issue of this series contains at least three lesser known disorders. Some of these disorders may contain subtypes which will also be presented. You will also notice that each disorder has a code. These codes represent the coding system for all disabilities and disorders listed in the Educator’s Diagnostic Manual(EDM) Wiley Publications.
Disorders in this issue:
ID – 4.02- Intellectual Disability due to Maternal Rubella
Disability Category: Intellectual Disability
Definition
Rubella (German measles) is an acute viral disease that can affect susceptible persons of any age. Although rubella is generally a mild rash illness, if contracted in the early months of pregnancy it is associated with a high rate of fetal loss or a constellation of birth defects, known as congenital rubella syndrome (Center for Disease Control, 2005a).When rubella is contracted by mothers during the first 3 months of pregnancy, it causes severe damage in 10% to 40% of unborn children, with Intellectual Disability being a possibility (Heward, 2006)
Explanation
Probably the most significant single preventative strike against Intellectual Disability was the development of an effective rubella vaccine in 1962.Rubella is caused by a virus that is spread through the air or by close contact. Rubella is a serious viral disease when occurring in the first trimester of pregnancy. If it occurs during this time it is likely to cause a deformity in the fetus, potentially leading to Intellectual Disability.
Congenital rubella syndrome occurs in 25% or more of infants born to women who acquired rubella during the first trimester of pregnancy.Defects are rare if the infection occurs after the 20th week of pregnancy. One or more defects may occur in an infected fetus and include deafness, cataracts, microcephaly, Intellectual Disability, congenital heart defects, and other problems (Center for Disease Control, 2005a; Heward, 2006)
ID- 4.03- Intellectual Disability due to Rh Disease
(Rhesus hemolytic disease)
Disability Category: Intellectual Disability
Definition
Rh disease is a condition caused by an incompatibility between the blood of a mother and that of her fetus (ARC, 2005). It is a hemolytic disease—that is, it causes destruction of fetal red blood cells (March of Dimes Birth Defect Foundation, 2005b).
Explanation
Rh disease once affected about 20,000 babies in the U.S. each year. Since 1968, however, there has been a treatment that usually can prevent Rh disease. The number of babies born with the disease has declined dramatically since then. Today, doctors are able to detect and treat Rh disease in the fetus, so about 95 percent of babies with severe Rh disease survive. But not all women who need the treatment get it, and a small number of women cannot benefit from it. As a result, there are still some 4,000 infants born each year with Rh disease (March of Dimes Birth Defect Foundation, 2005b).
Very few first-pregnancy babies are damaged as the Rh antibodies have not formed sufficiently to harm the first baby. However, a previous miscarriage, abortion, or amniocentesis in which the fetus’s blood was Rh+ might have sensitized the woman. During subsequent pregnancies, antibodies can cross the placenta and attack the fetal blood cells. Rh disease destroys an unborn baby’s blood cells, potentially resulting in newborns being born with jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) and anemia. In some cases the results could be brain damage, heart failure, and even death.
ID – 4.04- Intellectual Disability due to Maternal Syphilis
Disability Category: Intellectual Disability
Definition
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. It has often been called “the great imitator” because so many of the signs and symptoms are indistinguishable from those of other diseases (Center for Disease Control, 2005b).
Explanation
A pregnant woman with untreated, active syphilis is likely to pass the infection to her unborn child. In addition, miscarriage may occur in as many as 25 to 50 percent of women acutely infected with syphilis during pregnancy. Between 40 to 70 percent of women with active syphilis will give birth to a syphilis-infected infant.
Some infants with congenital syphilis may have symptoms at birth, but most develop symptoms between 2 weeks and 3 months later. These symptoms may include:
- Skin ulcers
- Rashes
- Fever
- Weakened or hoarse crying sounds
- Swollen liver and spleen
- Yellowish skin (jaundice)
- Anemia (low red blood cell count)
- Various deformities
People who care for infants with congenital syphilis must use special cautions because the moist sores are infectious. Rarely, the symptoms of syphilis go undetected in infants. As infected infants become older children and teenagers, they may develop the symptoms of late-stage syphilis, including damage to their bones, teeth, eyes, ears, and brains (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 2005).
ID – 4.05- Intellectual Disability due to Maternal Toxoplasmosis
Disability Category: Intellectual Disability
Definition
A single-celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii causes a disease known as toxoplasmosis. While the parasite is found throughout the world, more than 60 million people in the United States may be infected with the Toxoplasma parasite. Of those who are infected, very few have symptoms because a healthy person’s immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness.
However, pregnant women and individuals who have compromised immune systems should be cautious; for them, a Toxoplasma infection could cause serious health problems (National Center for Infectious Diseases of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention- Division of Parasitic Diseases, 2004)
Explanation
Infants born to mothers who became infected with Toxoplasma for the first time during or just before pregnancy are at risk for developing severe toxoplasmosis. According to the National Center for Infectious Diseases of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention- Division of Parasitic Diseases (2004), symptoms of the infection vary.
Most people who become infected with Toxoplasma are not aware of it.
Most infants who are infected while still in the womb have no symptoms at birth, but they may develop symptoms later in life. A small percentage of infected newborns have serious eye or brain damage at birth (National Center for Infectious Diseases of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention- Division of Parasitic Diseases, 2004)
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