Congenital HSV: morbidity and mortality
Congenital HSV infection (approximately 4% of all neonatal HSV infections) can result in an infant born with microcephaly, hydrocephalus, chorioretinitis and vesicular skin lesions. Three subtypes of infection have been identified: (1) disease localized to the skin, eye or mouth; (2) encephalitis, with or without skin, eye or mouth involvement; (3) disseminated infection that involves multiple sites, including the central nervous system, lung, liver, adrenals, skin, eye or mouth. There is virtually no mortality among infants with disease limited to the skin, eyes and mouth, but mortality increases to 15% among infants with encephalitis and 57% among infants with disseminated disease, even with antiviral therapy. Long-term morbidity is common in infants who survive with encephalitis or disseminated disease, and may include seizures, psychomotor retardation, spasticity, blindness or learning disabilities.