Infant Development Study
Pediatricians Study the Effects of the Roseola Virus
Purpose of the Study
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Conducting this important study are Dr. Caroline B. Hall and Dr. Mary T. Caserta, of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Dr. Philip W. Davidson of the Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities at the University of Rochester, and Dr. Richard Canfield of the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. They are well known throughout the world for their studies of the roseola virus and child development. Through this study they will attempt to answer two questions:
- Are the symptoms of the roseola virus infection different in a baby who has it at birth than in a baby who gets the virus during the first couple years of life?
- Will the roseola virus affect the health and development of the child as the child grows?
The reason why we wonder if the roseola virus may cause developmental problems is because a very similar virus, cytomegalovirus (or CMV), can harm babies’ development and this may be visible only several years after birth. The vast majority of babies get the roseola virus between 6 and 18 months of age. The roseola virus may cause difficulties in a child's development and we want to understand if getting the virus before birth versus later, makes a difference and if it affects child development. The aspect of development we focus on is your baby's ability to understand and learn new things. Every baby is tested at birth, however, only 1 in 100 are found to be born with the virus, so it's very important that these babies participate as there are so few.
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