[Infections with herpes viruses in gynecology and obstetrics]

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted infection that is feared in particular during birth, when the virus can infect the baby during its passage through the birth canal, and lead to the death of the neonate or lasting severe morbidity. Much more frequent, however, is recurrent herpes genitalis that can occur up into old age, and which is usually nothing worse than a nuisance. Owing to the wide spectrum of possible symptoms and their intensity, it is not infrequently recognized either very late in its evolution, or not at all. Varicella in pregnancy is also particularly feared, since it can (rarely) lead to congenital damage or, in the case of maternal peripartal varicella, to severe infection in the neonate.