Neonatal herpes simplex virus disease – mother-to-child transmission

The paeds round - from RCPCH and Medisense

We’re back for episode 2 of The Paeds Round with special guest Dr Hermione Lyall joining our hosts Emma Lim and Christo Tsilifis to talk about maternal to child transmission of herpes simplex virus and the importance of early detection of this rare condition.

Hermione is a paediatric infectious diseases consultant at St Mary’s hospital in London and brings a wealth of experience to this discussion. She has a special interest in congenital infections and has worked tirelessly to prevent their transmission, which she discusses at length in this second of our three-part series on HSV.

Listen out for the third part of this series on 19 December.

Download transcript: https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-12/Transcript-The-paeds-round-2-neonatal-HSV-transmission.pdf

This podcast is a collaboration between the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (https://www.rcpch.ac.uk) and Medisense (https://www.medisense.org.uk).

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Resources relating to this episode

• The British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASSH) is updating its clinical guideline, Management of Anogenital Herpes in Pregnancy and the Neonate. The advice for prophylaxis in pregnancy has been updated to: “Start aciclovir from 32 weeks generally or 22 weeks in any woman where there is a suspected risk of prematurity”.
• Video: Dr Hermione Lyall | PaeCH Teaching for Trainees - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XE1gjt_Vq0
• Samies NL, James SH, Kimberlin DW. Neonatal Herpes Simplex Virus Disease: Updates and Continued Challenges. Clin Perinatol. 2021 Jun;48(2):263-274. doi: 10.1016/j.clp.2021.03.003. PMID: 34030813.
• Melvin AJ, Mohan KM, Vora SB, Selke S, Sullivan E, Wald A. Neonatal Herpes Simplex Virus Infection: Epidemiology and Outcomes in the Modern Era. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2022 Mar 24;11(3):94-101. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piab105. PMID: 34894240; PMCID: PMC8946680.
• Waheed S, Nuttall L, Fidler K, Dudley J, Bamford A, Lyall H. Neonatal Herpes Simplex Virus: Cutaneous Recurrence Is Common on Stopping Prophylactic Suppression Therapy. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2022 Dec 5;11(11):518-521. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piac098. PMID: 36048737.