{
  "id": 9099566,
  "title": "Rare infections during pregnancy linked to higher risk of severe intellectual disability and autism",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/rare-infections-during-pregnancy-linked-to-higher-risk-of-severe",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-22T06:27:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Euronews",
    "slug": "euronews",
    "url": "https://www.euronews.com/health/2026/09/22/rare-infections-during-pregnancy-linked-to-higher-risk-of-severe-intellectual-disability-a"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent study reveals that children born to mothers who contracted infections during pregnancy face a significantly higher risk of developing autism and intellectual disabilities. Known as TORCH infections, these include syphilis, rubella, toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, and herpesvirus. The research, conducted on 3.7 million individuals born in Sweden between 1987 and 2021, found that those diagnosed with a congenital TORCH infection were three times more likely to receive an autism diagnosis and over seven times more likely to be diagnosed with an intellectual disability compared to those without such infections. The study suggests that these infections, while rare, can have profound long-term impacts on brain development and should be a public health priority.",
  "summary": "Children born with infections such as syphilis, rubella and cytomegalovirus are far more likely to be diagnosed with autism and intellectual disability, according to a new study.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}