Neonatal Herpes Simplex Virus Infection

Neonatal herpes, seen roughly in 1 of 3000 live births in the United States, is the most serious manifestation of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection in the perinatal period. Although acyclovir therapy decreases infant mortality associated with perinatal HSV transmission, development of permanent neurological disabilities is not uncommon. Mother-to-neonate HSV transmission is most efficient when maternal genital tract HSV infection is acquired proximate to the time of delivery, signifying that neonatal herpes prevention strategies need to focus on decreasing the incidence of maternal infection during pregnancy and more precisely identifying infants most likely to benefit from prophylactic antiviral therapy.