Clinical and diagnostic characteristics of neonates with HSV infection in Germany 2017–2018
| Category of disease | Number of infants* |
| Mucocutaneous | 21 |
| Eye | 8 |
| CNS | 2 |
| Disseminated | 4 |
| Not reported | 2 |
| Clinical symptoms | |
| No symptoms | 10 |
| Mucocutaneous herpes blisters | 10 |
| Poor feeding | 7 |
| Circulatory problems | 7 |
| Body temperature >38.0°C | 5 |
| Seizures | 6 |
| Dyspnoea or tachypnoea | 6 |
| Apnoea | 5 |
| Lethargy | 4 |
| Unspecific symptoms | 6 |
| Laboratory findings | |
| No abnormal findings | 21 |
| Elevated liver enzymes | 10 |
| Leucocyte count >15/nL | 7 |
| Thrombocytopenia <150/nL | 5 |
| Abnormal coagulation | 4 |
| CRP >15 mg/L | 4 |
| CSF cell count >20/nL (0–28 DOL), >9/nL (29–60 DOL) | 3 |
| CSF glucose <40 mg/dL | 2 |
| Leucocyte count <5/nL | 1 |
| Diagnostics | |
| Cranial ultrasound | |
| Normal | 23 |
| Abnormal | 4 |
| Not performed/unknown | 10 |
| Cranial MRI | |
| Normal | 3 |
| Abnormal | 5 |
| Not performed | 29 |
| EEG | |
| Normal | 2 |
| Abnormal | 6 |
| Not performed | 29 |
*Multiple answers possible.
CNS, central nervous system; CRP, C reactive protein; CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; DOL, day of life; EEG, electroencephalogram; HSV, herpes simplex virus.