Step 1: Anchor on the memorable rubella triad of heart, eye and ear - that is PDA, cataract and sensorineural deafness - which is exactly what option a lists. Step 2: The damage is greatest with first-trimester maternal infection, with periconceptional exposure (0-28 days before conception) still posing roughly a 43% fetal risk, while later infection tends to spare major organs. Step 3: Diagnosis uses virus isolation from throat, urine or other secretions, IgM in a single early postnatal serum, or persistence of rubella IgG beyond one year in an unvaccinated child. Step 4: The chorioretinitis-pneumonitis cluster belongs to toxoplasmosis, and the hepatosplenomegaly option is non-defining, so only option a names the true triad. \[\boxed{\text{PDA, cataract and deafness}}\]