| | [Clinical Preventive Services] Screening for Genital Herpes Simplex (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18) |
 | | In pregnant women, the rate of genital herpes reported as a maternal risk factor on birth certificates is 8.0/1,000 live births.7 Pregnant women with genital HSV infection can transmit the virus to their newborns. |
 | | An estimated 35-80% of infants with neonatal herpes are born to women with no known history of genital herpes or physical signs of infection at delivery.10,12,13 Therefore, screening asymptomatic pregnant women has the potential of identifying unrecognized active HSV infections. |
 | | The risk of acquiring neonatal herpes infection from an asymptomatic pregnant woman with active viral shedding from reactivated disease is less than 5%, whereas from a woman with first- episode genital disease the risk is 33%.31 A negative culture, however, does not eliminate an infant's risk of infection. |
| cpmcnet.columbia.edu /texts/gcps/gcps0040.html (2954 words) |