HSV-2 specific serology should be offered routinely to antenatal patients

✍ Scribed by Zane A. Brown

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 54 KB
• Volume: 10
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1052-9276
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1654(200005/06)10:3<141::aid-rmv280>3.0.co;2-2

✦ Synopsis

The most devastating consequence of genital herpes is neonatal herpes. It is clear that the majority of newborns acquire their infection by contact with infected genital secretions during delivery from an asymptomatic mother who acquired a ®rst episode of genital herpes near the time of labour. Since the majority of cases of ®rst episode genital herpes during pregnancy are unrecognised, the prevention of neonatal transmission will depend upon the identi®cation of the HSV serologically discordant couple and the institution of appropriate interventions by mid pregnancy. Therefore, the pre Âcis of this discussion paper is that universal HSV serological testing should be performed at the ®rst prenatal visit. As a corollary, type speci®c HSV serology will need to be commercially available and relatively inexpensive.

In any country, pregnant women and their partners represent a broad, cross section of sexually active adults. The vast majority present themselves to the health care system for care during their pregnancies which is a period of time in which the focus of care is primarily preventive and during which women are generally motivated and compliant. This is truly the `golden opportunity' to identify patients already infected as well as those at risk for acquiring genital herpes. Information regarding genital herpes and methods of preventing transmission to susceptible partners and newborn infants can easily be added to educational programmes which have already become an institution within prenatal care.