Skip to main content
Journal of Clinical Pathology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Pathology
. 1993 Oct;46(10):968–971. doi: 10.1136/jcp.46.10.968

Acute herpes hepatitis in pregnancy.

C G Fink 1, S J Read 1, J Hopkin 1, T Peto 1, S Gould 1, J B Kurtz 1
PMCID: PMC501632  PMID: 8068059

Abstract

A 36 year old primigravid woman presented with a "flu-like" illness and premature labour, followed by severe pneumonitis and hepatitis in the late second trimester of pregnancy. Progressive deterioration obliged an elective delivery of twins, stillborn at 25 weeks of gestation. Herpes virus isolated from one placenta, but not from any fetal tissue, was the only indication of a systemic herpes simplex infection in which there were no mucocutaneous lesions seen before or during the illness. There was no history of herpes simplex infection and antibody studies were not helpful initially for a diagnosis that was confirmed in retrospect. Double staining for viral DNA and antigen showed that the virus was present in host monocytes.

Full text

PDF
968

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Chase R. A., Pottage J. C., Jr, Haber M. H., Kistler G., Jensen D., Levin S. Herpes simplex viral hepatitis in adults: two case reports and review of the literature. Rev Infect Dis. 1987 Mar-Apr;9(2):329–333. doi: 10.1093/clinids/9.2.329. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Flewett T. H., Parker R. G., Philip W. M. Acute hepatitis due to Herpes simplex virus in an adult. J Clin Pathol. 1969 Jan;22(1):60–66. doi: 10.1136/jcp.22.1.60. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Gonik B., Loftin K. C., Tan N. S., Crump J. Immune modulation of natural killer cell cytotoxicity against herpes infected target cells in pregnancy. Am J Reprod Immunol. 1990 Dec;24(4):95–98. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0897.1990.tb01045.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Hensleigh P. A., Glover D. B., Cannon M. Systemic Herpesvirus hominis in pregnancy. J Reprod Med. 1979 Mar;22(3):171–176. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Holmes P. J., Hallworth J. A., Stocker D. I., Skinner G. R. Augmentation of the neutralisation test for type 1 HSV: evidence of high representation of neutralising antibody in the adult community. Med Microbiol Immunol. 1985;174(4):167–175. doi: 10.1007/BF02123693. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kangro H. O., Ward A., Argent S., Heath R. B., Cradock-Watson J. E., Ridehalgh M. K. Detection of specific IgM in varicella and herpes zoster by antibody-capture radioimmunoassay. Epidemiol Infect. 1988 Aug;101(1):187–195. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800029344. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Lissauer T., Jeffries D. Preventing neonatal herpes infection. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1989 Sep;96(9):1015–1018. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1989.tb03373.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. McVicar D. W., McCrady C. W., Merchant R. E. Corticosteroids inhibit the delivery of short-term activational pulses of phorbol ester and calcium ionophore to human peripheral T cells. Cell Immunol. 1992 Mar;140(1):145–157. doi: 10.1016/0008-8749(92)90183-p. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Mertz G. J., Schmidt O., Jourden J. L., Guinan M. E., Remington M. L., Fahnlander A., Winter C., Holmes K. K., Corey L. Frequency of acquisition of first-episode genital infection with herpes simplex virus from symptomatic and asymptomatic source contacts. Sex Transm Dis. 1985 Jan-Mar;12(1):33–39. doi: 10.1097/00007435-198501000-00007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Peacock J. E., Jr, Sarubbi F. A. Disseminated Herpes simplex virus infection during pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 1983 Mar;61(3 Suppl):13S–18S. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Porter H. J., Heryet A., Quantrill A. M., Fleming K. A. Combined non-isotopic in situ hybridisation and immunohistochemistry on routine paraffin wax embedded tissue: identification of cell type infected by human parvovirus and demonstration of cytomegalovirus DNA and antigen in renal infection. J Clin Pathol. 1990 Feb;43(2):129–132. doi: 10.1136/jcp.43.2.129. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Purtilo D. T., Hallgren H. M., Yunis E. J. Depressed maternal lymphocyte response to phytohaemagglutinin in human pregnancy. Lancet. 1972 Apr 8;1(7754):769–771. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(72)90522-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Wajner M., Papiha S. S., Wagstaff T. I. Relationship between serum immunoglobulin G and alpha-fetoprotein levels during human pregnancy. J Perinat Med. 1987;15(3):251–257. doi: 10.1515/jpme.1987.15.3.251. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ward K. N., Sheldon M. J., Gray J. J. Primary and recurrent cytomegalovirus infections have different effects on human herpesvirus-6 antibodies in immunosuppressed organ graft recipients: absence of virus cross-reactivity and evidence for virus interaction. J Med Virol. 1991 Aug;34(4):258–267. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890340411. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Weinberg E. D. Pregnancy-associated depression of cell-mediated immunity. Rev Infect Dis. 1984 Nov-Dec;6(6):814–831. doi: 10.1093/clinids/6.6.814. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Pathology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES