Congenital HSV

Learn about how the virus that causes cold sores can also cause serious complications in infants.

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This episode was written by Dr. Tammy Yau and Dr. Lidia Park, with content support from Dr. Ritu Cheema. Drs. Tammy and Lidia take full responsibility for any errors or misinformation.

Key points:

-First time HSV infection in pregnancy is higher risk to infants than reactivation of previous infection

-Symptoms of neonatal HSV infection include seizures, vesicles, and irritability

-Diagnose HSV with viral culture or PCR of bodily fluids

-Use acyclovir to treat infants and pregnant people with HSV infection

Sources:

AAFP 2022 https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2002/0315/p1138.html 

Redbook 2021 https://publications.aap.org/redbook/book/347/chapter-abstract/5752755/Herpes-Simplex?redirectedFrom=fulltext 

Neoreview 2018 https://publications.aap.org/neoreviews/article/19/2/e89/87448/Neonatal-Herpes-Simplex-Virus-Infection