A rare infectious cause of severe neonatal skin lesions

Abstract

SUMMARYWe present a case of a preterm infant of 28 weeks' gestation with unique cutaneous lesions characteristic of a congenital herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 infection. The infant was prematurely delivered due to intractable labour. The mother had no history or clinical signs of genital infection before or during pregnancy. The infant's skin lesions were described as rough white-yellow plaques; a skin biopsy demonstrated calcified plaques and absent epidermis. HSV type 1 was later determined using PCR on the infant's skin biopsy and cerebral spinal fluid as well as the mother's vaginal swab and the placenta. Calcifications have already been described by Allee et al, alongside a diagnosis of HSV type 2. As is well known, the morbidity and mortality of congenital herpes infections are very high. BACKGROUND

Congenital Herpes Simplex Virus: A Histopathological View of the Placenta

“…It is defined primarily as lymphocytic infiltration of the umbilical cord due to the establishment of a chronic in-utero viral infection. It has been speculated that HSV may induce chronic funisitis [10,56], while the presence of plasma cells in funisitis requires the exclusion of a herpetic infection [11,20].…”