A new study adds to a growing body of research aimed at understanding how a mother’s body’s response to infection influences a growing fetus. In research published this week in mSphere, researchers at Columbia University report that the sons of pregnant women who tested positive for antibodies against genital herpes (herpes simplex type 2, or HSV-2) at mid-pregnancy are more likely to be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The study is the first to connect maternal response to infection with autism risk.

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