Herpes virus in an obstetric hospital: I: Herpetic eruptions.

In a one-year prospective study, 199 of 347 (34%) staff members in direct contact with patients reported 165 non-genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections. The mean working time lost due to these infections was 4.7 days (aggregate, 778 days for the year). Serum antibody titre was not significantly associated with the recurrence rate or the duration of infection. A comparison was made of the ethnic, social and environmental histories of staff members prone to HSV infections and of seronegative staff members with no record of cold sores. The absence of effective treatment at present is noted.