Neonatal herpes simplex
| Congenital herpesviral (herpes simplex) infection | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
| Specialty | pediatrics |
| ICD-10 | P35.2 |
| ICD-9-CM | 771.2, 054.xx |
| eMedicine | article/964866 |
Neonatal herpes simplex is a rare but serious condition, usually caused by vertical transmission of herpes simplex virus from mother to newborn. Around 1 in every 3,500 babies in the United States contract the infection.
Neonatal herpes manifests itself in three forms: skin, eyes, and mouth herpes (SEM) sometimes referred to as "localized", disseminated herpes (DIS), and central nervous system herpes(CNS).
CNS herpes is associated with highest morbidity, and DIS herpes has a higher mortality rate. These categories are not mutually exclusive and there is often overlap of two or more types. SEM herpes has the best prognosis of the three, however, if left untreated it may progress to disseminated or CNS herpes with its attendant increases in mortality and morbidity.
Death from neonatal HSV disease in the U.S. is currently decreasing; The current death rate is about 25%, down from as high as 85% in untreated cases just a few decades ago. Other complications from neonatal herpes include prematurity with approximately 50% of cases having a gestation of 38 weeks or less, and a concurrent sepsis in approximately one quarter of cases that further clouds speedy diagnosis.
Among the maternal risk factors for Neonatal HSV-1: White non-Hispanic race, young maternal age (<25), primary infection in third trimester , first pregnancy, HSV (1&2) seronegative, discordant partner, gestation <38 weeks, receptive oral sex in third trimester.
Neonatal HSV-2 maternal risk factors: Black race, young maternal age (<21), discordant partner, primary or non primary first episode infection in third trimester, four or more lifetime sexual partners, lower level of education, history of previous STD, history of pregnancy wastage, first viable pregnancy, gestation <38 weeks.
The majority of cases (85%) occur during birth when the baby comes in contact with infected genital secretions in the birth canal, most common with mothers that have newly been exposed to the virus (mothers that had the virus before pregnancy have a lower risk of transmission), an estimated 5% are infected in utero, and approximately 10% of cases are acquired postnatally. Detection and prevention is difficult because transmission is asymptomatic in 60% - 98% of cases.
Reductions in morbidity and mortality are due to the use of antiviral treatments such as vidarabine and acyclovir. However, morbidity and mortality still remain high due to diagnosis of DIS and CNS herpes coming too late for effective antiviral administration; early diagnosis is difficult in the 20-40% of infected neonates that have no visible lesions. A recent large scale retrospective study found disseminated NHSV patients least likely to get timely treatment, contributing to the high morbidity/mortality in that group.
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