[Perinatal herpes simplex infection].

Neonatal herpes is a rare disease which has to be distinguished from herpes simplex virus infection later on in life. Most neonates in whom HSV infection develops have acquired the virus from the maternal genital tract during delivery. Clinical symptoms and prophylactic measures are discussed. Antiviral therapy with acyclovir is the treatment of choice and appears to improve outcome of neonatal herpes. The prognosis depends on early therapy, but the available diagnostic techniques not always allow early detection of the disease. Therefore treatment should be initiated in relation to clinical findings.