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HHV‐6 infection – not only tertian fever
Author(s) -
Fried Isabella,
Daghofer Elisabeth,
Aberer Elisabeth
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
jddg: journal der deutschen dermatologischen gesellschaft
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.463
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1610-0387
pISSN - 1610-0379
DOI - 10.1111/j.1610-0387.2008.06875.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pancytopenia , meningoencephalitis , exanthem , immunology , disease , antibody , fulminant , human herpesvirus 6 , immunocompetence , virology , viral disease , virus , herpesviridae , bone marrow , pathology , immune system
Summary The primary infection with the human herpesvirus (HHV) 6 usually occurs before the age of two (95%) and clinically either presents as tertian fever followed by exanthem subitum (10%) or even more often as febrile disease without an exanthem. In adults an active HHV‐6 infection can present as febrile illness. A 19‐year‐old immunocompetent patient presented with high fever, exanthem, swelling of the lymph nodes and pancytopenia and was serologically diagnosed as active HHV‐6 infection with anti‐ HHV‐6‐IgM‐ and ‐IgG antibodies. Since the antibodies were already detectable on day 5 of disease, with persistence of high IgG and undetectable IgM after 4 weeks, a reactivation seemed most likely. There was no evidence for an underlying immunosuppressive disease or reactivation induced by viral co‐infection. Fulminant hepatitis or meningoencephalitis are the most frequent complications in immunocompetent individuals and have to be recognized at an early stage.