HUMAN HERPESVIRUS-7 INFECTION ASSOCIATED WITH CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM MANIFESTATIONS

The clinical features of infection with human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) ar e not well described. Exanthem subitum is the only illness that is con firmed to be caused by HHV-7, We report two children who had exanthem subitum associated with central nervous system manifestations, Two str ains of HHV-7 were isolated sequentially from peripheral blood mononuc lear cells and saliva of the same child who had exanthem subitum compl icated with acute hemiplegia in childhood. Two strains were confirmed to be HHV-7 by means of monoclonal antibodies to human herpesvirus 6 ( HHV-6) and HHV-7, polymerase chain reaction, and DNA analysis. During the convalescent period, the antibody titer to HHV-7 rose from less th an 1:10 to 1:320, whereas the antibody titer to HHV-6 remained less th an 1:10. Another child with exanthem subitum complicated by acute hemi plegia had serologic evidence of primary HHV-7 infection, These two ca ses demonstrate a new relationship between HHV-7 and central nervous s ystem symptoms.