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In a retrospective study of infants ≤60 days of age who underwent cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) testing for suspected bacterial meningitis, investigators assessed the incidence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection and patterns of testing and empirical treatment. The study involved 26,533 infants presenting to 23 U.S. and Canadian emergency departments (EDs) from 2005 to 2013.
Of these, 35% were tested for HSV and 112 (0.4%) had HSV identified by polymerase chain reaction or viral culture (from CSF, blood, surface swabs, or other body fluids). Skin, eye, and mouth disease occurred in 0.2% of all infants, central nervous system infection in 0.1%, and disseminated disease in 0.1%. Among infants with HSV, 80% became infected in weeks 1–4 of lif…