Herpes in the peripartum period: a case report

BACKGROUND: Despite the tremendous advances made in the management of genital herpes, neonatal herpes has not been completely eradicated. In addition, the time from the onset of symptoms in the neonate to the diagnosis of herpes and institution of antiviral medication has remained unchanged in the past 20 years. CASE: Neonatal herpes infection resulted from primary, first-episode peripartum genital herpes in the mother. Due to a high index of suspicion, herpes testing was performed on the infant and neonatal herpes diagnosed. Subsequently, the mother developed evidence of primary herpes infection. CONCLUSION: This case report illustrates the problems with current management strategies for prevention of neonatal herpes.