Brief Report: Primary and Recurrent Herpes Simplex Infection in a Pediatric Nurse Resulting from a Human Bite

Extract

A case of primary and recurrent herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection resulting from a bite wound' occurring in a pediatric nurse is presented. HSV infection as an occupational hazard among hospital, personnel is briefly reviewed.

Herpes simplex virus occurring as herpes whitlow is a well-known hazard among dentists and dental technicians. There is one report in the literature of a large series of nurses in a neurosurgical unit contracting herpetic whitlow. There is one case in the literature of a physician contracting primary herpes simplex infection from mouth-to-mouth resuscitation of a patient with herpes simplex pneumonia. Three days after performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the physician developed painful papulovesicular lesions over the beard area, which subsequently ulcerated and crusted. One year after the resuscitation, the physician experienced cervical lymphadenop-and a recurrence of herpetic lesions in the same areas as the original infection. We report a case of primary and recurrent herpes simplex type 1 infection with disabling causalgia in a licensed practical nurse resulting from a bite wound received from a child hospitalized with pneumonia.