title: Transplacental congenital human herpesvirus 6 infection caused by maternal chromosomally integrated virus.
abstract: Congenital human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infection results from germline passage of chromosomally integrated HHV-6 (CI-HHV-6) and from transplacental passage of maternal HHV-6 infection. We aimed to determine whether CI-HHV-6 could replicate and cause transplacentally acquired HHV-6 infection. HHV-6 DNA, variant type, and viral loads were determined with samples (cord blood, peripheral blood, saliva, urine, and hair) obtained from 6 infants with transplacentally acquired HHV-6 and with samples of their parents' hair. No fathers but all mothers of infants with transplacentally acquired HHV-6 had CI-HHV-6, and the mother's CI-HHV-6 variant was the same variant causing the transplacentally acquired congenital HHV-6 infection. This suggests the possibility that CI-HHV-6 replicates and may cause most, if not all, congenital HHV-6 infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York 14642, USA. caroline_hall@urmc.rochester.edu
authors.forename: Caroline Breese
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Mary T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Caserta
authors.forename: Kenneth C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Schnabel
authors.forename: Lynne M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Shelley
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Carnahan
authors.forename: Andrea S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Marino
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Geraldine K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Lofthus
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology*; D019349:Roseolovirus Infections / Q000151:congenital / Q000235:genetics / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D016662:Virus Integration