STREPTOCOCCUS INFECTION AS A CAUSE OF SPONTANEOUS ABORTION
A. H. Curtis
Dec 9, 1916
Citations
10
Citations
Journal
JAMA
Full text
Semantic Scholar
Key Takeaway Key Takeaway: Streptococcus infection in guinea-pigs can cause spontaneous abortion and stillbirth, with the potential for recurrence in subsequent pregnancies.
Abstract
The belief that infection is a cause of recurrent spontaneous abortion and stillbirth is not original; in fact, the theory that it is the essential factor in many instances of "idiopathic" fetal death has a considerable number of adherents. Study of the Spirochaeta pallida has already demonstrated one infectious organism which is directly responsible for death of the fetus in the later months. That other varieties of bacteria should likewise possess the power of interrupting the course of pregnancy is to be anticipated. Conclusive evidence that such infections occur, demonstration of the characteristics peculiar to the invading organisms, and discovery of the foci from which reinfection develops in subsequent pregnancies, should do much to stamp out hitherto inexplicable cases of stillbirth. The object of the present report is to produce evidence which is helpful in the solution of this problem. In the study of scurvy in guinea-pigs, streptococcus infection of