Herpes infections and pregnancy
General Medicine, 2025, 27(5), 55-59.
T. Petkova1, S. Pachkova2, Ts. Doychinova3
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, MU – Pleven
2Medical Center “Clinical Institute for Reproductive Medicine” – Pleven
3Infectious Diseases Clinic, University Hospital „Dr. G. Stranski“ – Pleven
Abstract. Herpes virus infections are of great clinical importance in the practice of both general practitioners and obstetrics and gynecology specialists. In pregnant women, herpes infections may be more severe due to the physiological and immunological changes associated with pregnancy. At the current stage, there are very few approved antiviral treatments applicable to pregnant women and prevention is mainly focused on the implementation of appropriate hygiene and anti-epidemic measures. In this review article, we present current information on infections with some herpes viruses: cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) during pregnancy, as well as options for diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
Key words: herpes infections, pregnancy, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus-2, varicella-zoster virus, Epstein-Barr virus
Address for correspondence: Assoc. Prof. Tanya Petkova, MD, PhD, e-mail: tanja_1973@abv.bg