DETECTION OF HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS (HSV) IN ABORTED MATERIAL USING THEPOLYMERASE-CHAIN-REACTION TECHNIQUE

Objective: To investigate the contribution of HSV to the aetiopathogen esis of spontaneous abortion. Design: A hospital-based, case-control s tudy. Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hos pital and Laboratory of Clinical Virology, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Population and Methods: Abortion m aterial from 102 cases of women with spontaneous abortion was analysed for the presence of HSV DNA applying the PCR technique. Serological a ssays were used for the detection of specific IgM and IgG antibodies i n the maternal sera of 90 pregnant women with successful outcome of th eir pregnancy while 70 non-pregnant women at reproductive age were als o examined as control. Results: The HSV genome was detected by PCR amp lification in 3 cases of spontaneous abortion, 2 of them exhibited ser ological markers of virus reactivation while the 3rd showed a past inf ection. There were no obvious clinical manifestations indicating a cur rent herpes infection. Both groups of pregnant women, either with spon taneous abortion or with a successful outcome of pregnancy, displayed serological markers of HSV reactivation at higher rates compared with non-pregnant women (chi(2), p < 0.05). Conclusions: Using the PCR tech nique we were able to detect the HSV genome in gestational tissues of spontaneous abortions, even in cases without any clinical symptoms or seropositivity for a primary infection. Serological assays were not ve ry useful for the elucidation of the role of HSV in inducing spontaneo us abortions, although they indicate that the state of pregnancy predi sposes to HSV reactivation. However, the detection of HSV in 3 out of a total number of 102 cases does not support HSV infection as a major abortion-related factor.