Distinguishing Features Common to Dual Fatal Herpes Simplex Virus Infections That Occur in Both a Pregnant Woman and Her Newborn Infant

Abstract

Deaths from herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) are rare. A major exception is perinatally acquired HSV-1 or HSV-2 infection where the neonatal death rate is substantial. Fatal HSV infection also occurs occasionally in pregnant women. The goal of this review is to enumerate the reports that describe dual deaths of both a pregnant woman and her newborn from a herpesvirus infection. A total of 15 reports were found in the medical literature, of which five described pregnant women with HSV encephalitis and 10 described women with disseminated HSV infection. When the virus was typed, most cases of dual mother/newborn deaths were caused by HSV-2. Of interest, in two situations caused by HSV-1, the pregnant woman probably acquired her primary HSV-1 infection from one of her children and not by sexual transmission. Complete genomic sequencing was performed on one set of HSV-1 isolates collected from mother (blood) and newborn (blood and skin). The mother’s strain and the newborn’s skin strain were 98.9% identical. When the newborn’s two strains were compared, they were 97.4% identical. Only one mother was tested by the HerpeSelect IgG antibody kit. During the nine days of her undiagnosed disseminated infection preceding her death, her serology was negative. In summary, although dual mother/newborn deaths from HSV infection are rare, they continue to be reported as recently as 2017.

Herpes simplex virus infection induces necroptosis of neurons and astrocytes in human fetal organotypic brain slice cultures

“…The global incidence rate of neonatal HSV infection is about 10 cases per 100,000 livebirths and 0.82 deaths per 1,000,000 births in industrialized countries due to either HSV-1 or HSV-2 [ 2 , 3 ]. While the majority of neonatal HSV infections are acquired at birth, congenital HSV due to intrauterine HSV infection can occur leading to severe abnormalities affecting multiple organs including the brain [ 4 , 5 ].…”

BMS-265246, a Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor, Inhibits the Infection of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1

“…HSV-1 infections may be more recurrent and lead to severe complications in immunocompromised patients [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Neonatal infections can cause neurological disorders and death [ 5 , 6 ]. Although uncommon, HSV-1 may cause additional severe complications, such as encephalitis or keratitis [ 1 ].…”