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Neonatal HSV incidence varied by geography, health insurance status
Flagg EW.Pediatrics. 2010; doi:10.1542/peds.2010-0134.
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Rates of neonatal herpes simplex virus infection varied by geographic region, and were higher when the expected primary payer was enrolled in Medicaid compared with private or managed health care, according to a study published online.
CDC researchers Elaine Flagg, PhD, and Hillard Weinstock, MD, MPH, analyzed inpatient data on infants aged 60 days or younger from the 2006 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Database. The researchers estimated a total incidence of 9.6 cases per 100,000 births during 2006.
The researchers noted slightly elevated HSV rates in the Midwest (12.9 cases per 100,000 births), compared with the Northeast, South and West, where rates hovered in the 8.5 per 100,000 births range. Black, white and Hispanic newborns had similar incidence of HSV, at 13.8, 9.9 and 7.5 per 100,000 respectively. The researchers noted, however, neither of these trends were statistically significant.
Flagg and Weinstock did note, however, a statistically significant difference in HSV rates based on insurance status, with the incidence rate among patients with Medicaid or Medicare at 15.1 cases per 100,000, compared with 5.4 per 100,000 in those babies born with private insurance or managed health care.
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