Human herpesvirus 6 variant A/B infections in child population

E.V. Melehina¹, S.V. Nikolaeva¹, E.Ju. Soldatova¹, A.D.Muzyka¹, A.V. Gorelov^1,2

¹Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being, Moscow

²Sechenov University, Moscow 

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are among important pediatric issues due to their high prevalence, multiple transmission routes, and non-specific clinical signs. The latter makes the diagnosis of these infections more difficult and results in late treatment or, conversely, inadequate medication use (polypragmasia). In addition, infections with herpes viruses often determine the morbidity of other infections and affect immune status.

Aim: to assess the prevalence of human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) variant A/B infections in children.

Patients and Methods: 1,633 children aged 1–16 years were enrolled in the study. Of them, 567 children were admitted to hospital with clinical signs of acute respiratory infections, 958 children have monthly acute respiratory infections, and 108 children were healthy controls. All children underwent complex examination including direct diagnostic tests (ELISA) to identify the causative agent. Statistical analysis was performed using STATISTICA 6 software.

Results: we have demonstrated that HSV infection markers are identified with the similar rate in children aged 1–16 years, i.e., in 96% of children with clinical signs of acute respiratory infections, 91% of children with recurrent respiratory infections, and 91% of healthy children. HHV-6A and HHV-6B were the most common causative agents for HSV infections, i.e., their laboratory markers were identified in approx. 70% of the children. The proportion of active infections caused by HHV-6A and HHV-6B was 30%. They occurred mostly in association with HSV infections caused by other types of herpes viruses.

Conclusions: in child population, infections caused by HHV-6A and HHV-6B are the most common among HSV infections. However, active infections account for less than 30%. Our study has demonstrated that HSV diagnosis is required in children to prescribe early adequate etiological treatment.

Keywords: human herpesvirus 6 variant A/B, herpes simplex virus, children, meglumine acridоnacetate.

For citation: Melehina E.V., Nikolaeva S.V., Soldatova E.Ju. et al. Human herpesvirus 6 variant A/B infections in child population.
RMJ. 2019;10:17–21.