Neonatal infections are infections of the neonate (newborn) acquired during prenatal development or within the first four weeks of life (neonatal period).
Neonatal infections may be contracted by mother to child transmission, in the
birth canal during childbirth, or contracted after birth. Some
neonatal infections are apparent soon after delivery, while others may develop in the postnatal period. Some
neonatal infections such as HIV,
hepatitis B, and
malaria do not become apparent until much later. There is a higher risk of
infection for preterm or low
birth weight neonates. Infant respiratory distress syndrome is usually a condition of preterm neonates which will have long-term negative consequences, it also can arise following an infection. In some instances,
neonatal tract diseases may increase the susceptibility to future
respiratory infections and inflammatory responses associated with lung disease. Antibiotics can be effective for
neonatal infections, especially when the pathogen is quickly identified. Instead of relying solely on culturing techniques, pathogen identification has improved substantially with advancing technology; however, neonate mortality reduction has not kept pace and remains 20% to 50%
Relevant Topics in Medical Sciences
