Do Prenatal Infections Cause Autism?
Rarely, and only from a specific group of infections that were already known to harm developing brains. A new JAMA Pediatrics study of 3.6 million Swedes reports a roughly threefold higher hazard of autism after a diagnosed congenital TORCH infection, but only 975 people in the entire cohort had one, so these infections explain about three in 10,000 autism cases. The individual risk stays low. The two things worth doing are cheap: confirm your rubella immunity before you conceive, and follow basic CMV hygiene around toddlers once you do.