Cesarean Section and Genital Herpes (Cont.)

Abstract

To the Editor: Drs. Chang and O'Keefe, in their letter regarding cesarean section and genital herpes (N Engl J Med 296:573, 1977), note that cesarean sections are being performed in large numbers for the prevention of neonatal herpes simplex virus infection. They also claim that there was not a single case of neonatal herpes in Massachusetts in 1976. One might be tempted to conclude that cesarean sections have indeed been effective in preventing neonatal herpes in Massachusetts! Unfortunately, it is not possible to be certain that no cases of neonatal herpes have occurred in any one hospital, much less . . .