The risk from the procedure is greater the earlier it is performed, thus amniocentesis is not recommended before 15 weeks gestational age and chorionic villus sampling before 10 weeks gestational age. Abortion rates
About 92% of pregnancies in Europe with a diagnosis of Down syndrome are terminated. As a result, there is almost no one with Down syndrome in Iceland and Denmark, where screening is commonplace. In the United States, the termination rate after diagnosis is around 75%, but varies from 61% to 93% depending on the population surveyed. Rates are lower among women who are younger and have decreased over time. When asked if they would have a termination if their fetus tested positive, 23–33% said yes, when high-risk pregnant women were asked, 46–86% said yes, and when women who screened positive are asked, 89–97% say yes. After birth
The diagnosis can often be suspected based on the childs physical appearance at birth. An analysis of the childs chromosomes is needed to confirm the diagnosis, and to determine if a translocation is present, as this may help determine the chances of the childs parents having further children with Down syndrome. Parents generally wish to know the possible diagnosis once it is suspected and do not wish pity. Screening
Guidelines recommend screening for Down syndrome to be offered to all pregnant women, regardless of age. A number of tests are used, with varying levels of accuracy. They are typically used in combination to increase the detection rate.
With the advent and implementation of vaccinations for organisms such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenza type B, and Neisseria meningitis, rates of bacterial meningitis have been in decline, making viral meningitis more common. Countries without high rates of immunization still carry higher rates of bacterial disease. While the disease can occur in both children and adults, it is more common in children. Rates of infection tend to reach a peak in the summer and fall. During an outbreak in Romania and in Spain viral meningitis was more common among adults. While, people aged younger than 15 made up 33.8% of cases. In contrast in Finland in 1966 and in Cyprus in 1996, Gaza 1997, China 1998 and Taiwan 1998, the incidence of viral meningitis was higher among children. Recent research
It has been proposed that viral meningitis might lead to inflammatory injury of the vertebral artery wall.The Meningitis Research Foundation is conducting a study to see if new genomic techniques can improve the speed, accuracy and cost of diagnosing meningitis in children in the UK. The research team will develop a new method to be used for the diagnosis of meningitis, analysing the genetic material of microorganisms found in CSF (cerebrospinal fluid). The new method will first be developed using CSF samples where the microorganism is known, but then will be applied to CSF samples where the microorganism is unknown (estimated at around 40%) to try and identify a cause.