Maternal oral herpes: isolation policy

Current official recommendations are that parents and personnel with oral herpes lesions be isolated from newborn infants. A survey of 110 neonatal centers, 50% of them replying, showed that most centers do not isolate mothers with oral herpes from their newborn infants. A review of the literature suggest that exposure of infants to personnel or family with oral herpes lesions might occasionally result in disseminated neonatal herpes simplex virus disease. Since the separation of a mother from her newborn infant up to 1 week of ages is a decision that should not be taken lightly, more information is urgently needed to decide whether or not to isolate mothers and hospital personnel with oral herpes lesions from newborn infants. Recommendations to obtain more information concerning these infants are provided.