High Prevalence of HSV Infection Among Pregnant Women in the U.S.

Neonatal herpes usually is acquired at delivery when the infant of a mother with herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 or type 2 passes through the birth canal. Because the risk for transmission to the infant is high (30%–50%) among women who acquire a new infection near the time of delivery or when lesions are present, many specialists recommend universal screening for women in the third trimester. Investigators at the CDC used data from a recent national survey to estimate the seroprevalence of HSV in pregnant women.

HSV serology test results were available for 626 pregnant survey participants. The median number of lifetime sex partners was four. Overall, HSV-1 seroprevalence was 63%, HSV-2 seroprevalence was 22%, and infection with both was 1…