Genetic traces of herpes virus found in babies

Jan 12, 2009, 2:08 GMT

Baierbrunn, Germany - Human herpes virus 6 is apparently hereditary, according to research conducted at the University of Rochester in the US state of New York.

According to a report in a German magazine for pharmacists, some parents pass on the human herpes virus (HHV-6) to their children because it is integrated into their chromosomes. It is the first time the virus has been shown to become part of the human DNA and then passed to subsequent generations. The long-term health consequences are unknown.

The researchers studied 254 babies born between July 2003 and April 2007, the university said in a press release. Of those, 43 had congenital HHV-6 infections based on samples of blood drawn from the embilical cord.

Thirty-seven (86 per cent) of them had the virus integrated into their chromosomes. The remaining six were infected by the mother through the placenta. At least one of their parents also carried the virus, meaning the children acquired the integrated infections through their mother's egg or their father's sperm at conception.

'With further study, we hope to discern whether this type of infection affects children differently than children infected after birth,' said Caroline Breese Hall, professor of Paediatrics and Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Centre.

HHV-6 causes roseola, an infection that is nearly universal by age 3. The typical roseola syndrome produces several days and up to a week of a high fever and may have other symptoms that affect breathing and digestion.