Congenital Heart Disease and Other Malformations Produced by Influenza a Virus and Allantoic Fluid in the Chick Embryo.

II Although a number of explanations have been suggested, the etiology of congenital heart disease is still unknown. The teratogenie agents used in the experiments of other investigators" are seldom those encountered in clinical practice. Bpidemiological studies" have revealed the role of viral infections in the production of human cardiac malformations ; this led us to investigate the effect of influenza A virus on the production of congenital heart disease in the chick embryo. Influenza A virus was chosen for our experiments because: a) its effect on the development of the heart has not been studied, even though cpidcmiological and experimental" data have shown it to be capable of producing congenital malformations; b) it is the cause of frequent infections in human beings, including pregnant women; and c) it is easy to grow in the chick embryo.