PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Mindel, A
AU  - Taylor, J
AU  - Tideman, R L
AU  - Seifert, C
AU  - Berry, G
AU  - Wagner, K
AU  - Page, J
AU  - Marks, C
AU  - Trudinger, B
AU  - Cunningham, A
TI  - Neonatal herpes prevention: a minor public health problem in some communities
AID  - 10.1136/sti.76.4.287
DP  - 2000 Aug 01
TA  - Sexually Transmitted Infections
PG  - 287--291
VI  - 76
IP  - 4
4099  - http://sti.bmj.com/content/76/4/287.short
4100  - http://sti.bmj.com/content/76/4/287.full
SO  - Sex Transm Infect2000 Aug 01; 76
AB  - Background: Neonatal herpes is a condition with high morbidity and mortality. The greatest risk occurs when the mother acquires herpes simplex virus (HSV) towards the end of pregnancy. A study from Seattle has suggested that the risk of acquisition of HSV during pregnancy was 3.7%. In Australia, HSV-2 infection is less common in pregnant women than in the United States. Consequently we conducted a study to establish HSV seroprevalence and the rate of HSV seroconversion in this population. Methods: The study was conducted at Westmead Hospital, Sydney, between June 1995 and April 1998. Women completed a questionnaire covering risk factors for the acquisition of genital herpes. A serum sample during pregnancy and a specimen of cord blood were obtained and tested for antibodies to HSV-2 using a type specific indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Equivocal results were resolved by western blot. A subset of the paired sera was tested for antibodies to HSV-1. The data were analysed using spss. Results: 326 of the 2616 (12.5%) women were HSV-2 seropositive. Three women (0.15%) acquired HSV-2 infection during pregnancy. None of the three babies of these mothers developed neonatal herpes. 416 maternal cord pairs were tested for HSV-1 antibodies and 330 (79.3%) were positive. No HSV-1 seroconversions occurred. Conclusions: In this population, HSV acquisition was uncommon (0.34% per year) and neonatal herpes was rare. A cost effective analysis suggested that type specific serology to screen pregnant women and their partners in low prevalence communities was not cost effective.