Out-of-Hospital Infant Mortality Associated with Herpesviruses

Introduction . Infant mortality is a universally recognized indicator for social well-being of the population. There is a need for an in-depth analysis of the causes and factors leading to the death of infants at home, including determining the etiology of infectious diseases potentially causing death. The purpose of the study — to determine the implication of herpesviruses in infant out-of-hospital death. Materials and methods . Samples from autopsy material of 23 infants (blood, small intestine, heart, lungs, liver, brain), who died at home from various causes, were analyzed by PCR for the presence of viral DNA and RNA from herpesviruses, orthomyxoviruses, paramyxoviruses, picornaviruses, adenoviruses, coronaviruses, parvoviruses, as well as intestinal viruses. Results and discussion . Positive PCR results were found in 11 cases (43.5 %), of which herpesviruses DNA was detected in 10 cases. In these samples, cytomegalovirus predominated, in association with Epstein — Barr virus and human herpesvirus type 6. This association was detected in blood and internal organs samples from four infants diagnosed with generalized viral infection, and from two infants with acute respiratory viral infection. This suggests the presence of a causal relationship between the lethal outcome and the detection of these viruses. Not all infants showed clinical signs characteristic of generalized herpes infection. In one infant with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, coronavirus, enterovirus and rotavirus DNA was found in samples of internal organs. Conclusion . Results showed the dominant role of the herpesviruses in out-of-hospital infant death cases.