Ashish Jain, Vivek Khanna, Veeraraja Basavanthappa Sathenahalli and Vivek Khurana
Neonatal herpes simplex virus infection (HSV) is a vertically transmitted infection, transferred to baby from mother during or before delivery and also through infected secretions after birth. Incidence varies all over the world varying from 1: 3200 births to 1: 60000 births. Untreated infections are often life threatening. It should be considered as a differential diagnosis in a febrile infant less than 1 month old with risk factors. Definitive culture or polymerase chain reactions are used for the diagnosis. Treatment consists of anti-viral therapy with acyclovir. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment will alleviate the related morbidity and mortality. Here we report a case of neonatal herpes simplex virus infection diagnosed early and treated effectively with acyclovir.