This article is part of the supplement: Fifth Dominique Dormont International Conference. Host-Pathogen Interactions in Chronic Infections

Lecture presentation

Perspectives on pathogenesis and prevention of congenital herpes virus infection

Mark R Schleiss

• Correspondence: Mark R Schleiss

Author Affiliations

Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Minnesota Medical School and Center for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Translational Research, Minneapolis, MN, USA

Retrovirology 2009, 6(Suppl 1):L2 doi:10.1186/1742-4690-6-S1-L2

Published: 22 July 2009

First paragraph (this article has no abstract)

Each of the 8 members of the human herpesvirus family identified to date has been associated, to varying degrees, with congenital and perinatal transmission to the fetus and newborn infant. The problem of prevention of maternal-to-child transmission of herpesvirus infections is complicated by a lack of understanding of correlates of protective immunity for both the mother and the fetus. Herpesviruses encode multiple immune evasion genes, and establish lifelong, persistent infection in the host. These issues render the design of protective vaccines highly problematic.