Acute retinal necrosis caused by herpes simplex virus type 2 in children: reactivation of an undiagnosed latent neonatal herpes infection.
Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is known to cause acute retinal necrosis (ARN). The availability of HSV-2-specific polymerase chain reaction tests for diagnostic analysis has greatly increased our ability to discriminate ARN caused by HSV-2 from ARN caused by either herpes simplex virus type 1 or varicella zoster virus (VZV). Of great interest, HSV-2 appears to be the most common cause of viral ARN in children and adolescents. Although a few children with ARN are known to have had neonatally acquired herpes infection, most children lack a history of known herpes disease. Thus, the origin of the HSV-2 infection is a mystery. The hypothesis of this review is that HSV-2 ARN in children and adolescents may be the first sign of a previously undiagnosed and asymptomatic neonatal HSV-2 infection, which has reactivated several years later from latency in a cranial nerve and entered the retina. The review brings together 7 previously published ARN cases, plus one new case is added. Thus, this review also expands the spectrum of complications from neonatal HSV-2 infection.
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Children's Hospital, Iowa City, IA, USA. charles-grose@uiowa.edu
Charles
C
Grose
D000293:Adolescent; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000235:genetics; D018258:Herpesvirus 2, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D015882:Retinal Necrosis Syndrome, Acute / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology*; D014775:Virus Activation; D017735:Virus Latency
D000998:Antiviral Agents