Cold Sore Virus Leads to Baby's Death
10-Day-Old Child Dies of Herpes Simplex Virus
Herpes simplex is part of a family of herpes DNA viruses that include chicken pox and shingles. HSV-1 is a predominantly oral infection, causing cold sores. HSV-2 is the variety that predominantly causes genital herpes.
During the initial infection, the virus incorporates its DNA into the host cell where it may remain dormant for many years. When it activates, the viral DNA makes copies of the virus to infect other cells, causing a bout of illness.
The virus can be transmitted at any time through close contact with a person's saliva or genital secretions, although a person is most contagious during an outbreak.
Although Raveney knows Mira could have been infected by her father or a member of the hospital staff, she was most contagious at the time Mira contracted the virus, likely through her left eye.
"I've got huge guilt issues over this," Raveney said. "But it could have been anything."
Abramson said fussy or sick babies usually have doctors thinking about bacterial infections. But there are some signs, such as a crop of blisters or an increase in liver enzymes, that may indicate a viral infection.
"What makes you decide to do something further depends on what the baby looks like," Abramson said. "This is a disease that is much less common than bacterial infections."
A Quiet Virus
About 1,500 to 2,200 babies under 1 month old contract herpes each year in the United States, and untreated, the virus is fatal in up to 85 percent of cases. The majority of neonatal herpes simplex infections are caused by HSV-2, but about 30 percent are caused by HSV-1, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.
A specialist in pediatric infectious disease may be more finely tuned to infections like herpes than another type of doctor. Unfortunately, without active signs of infection, the symptoms of HSV-1 are non-specific. Indeed, the advice Raveney received from general practitioners and midwives led her to believe her daughter was not ill and was simply taking some time to settle into the family routine.
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