Sequential peripartum herpes simplex virus type 2 disease in parents and their newborn mimicking intrafamily spread of common viruses

Herpes simplex type 2 (HSV2) disease developed sequentially among two paren ts and their newborn. The father first became ill with upper-respiratory sy mptoms and fever. Then, 5 days later, shortly after delivery, the mother ha d fever, pharyngitis, and diarrhea. Subsequently, the infant developed undi fferentiated febrile illness at the age of 3 days. HSV etiology was recogni zed by incidental isolation of HSV2 from the newborn naospharynx. The fathe r never developed genital lesions and the mother's symptoms remained nonspe cific for several days prior to the onset of genital manifestations. The se quential emergence and manifestations of these infections could have been m isconstrued for an intrafamily spread of respiratory or enteric viruses. Th is cluster illustrates that HSV2 may cause sequential symptomatic disease i n susceptible individuals mimicking other viruses.