Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of Herpes Virus Infection in Children

An analytical review of current data on herpes virus infections in children is presented, with an emphasis on lesions of the maxillofacial region and their complications. The epidemiology, clinical manifestations and complications of infections caused by herpes simplex viruses of types 1 and 2, varicella zoster virus, Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus and human herpes viruses of types 6, 7 and 8 are analyzed. Subject of the study – regional epidemiological data on the prevalence of herpes virus infections in children in Ekaterinburg and the structure of complications associated with various types of herpes viruses. Objective – to evaluate the incidence of herpes virus infection in children in the city of Yekaterinburg. Materials and Methods. To conduct an epidemiological analysis, we used data from official statistics, retrospective studies and publications reflecting the situation of herpes virus infections among the children of the Sverdlovsk region and Ekaterinburg for the period from 2016 to 2025. The search and selection of relevant sources was carried out in the databases of the Russian State Library, eLibrary, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, according to keywords related to the prevalence, incidence, clinical manifestations, age structure and outbreak activity of herpes virus infections in the specified region. The search depth was 10 years. Results. The infection rate of Yekaterinburg's child population is: HSV-1/2 – 70–80 %, VZV – 88–94 %, EBV – 85–90 %, CMV – 50–60 %, HHV-6 – 88–92 %, HHV-7 – 80–85 %, HHV-8 – 5–10 %. Age-related peaks of infection, seasonality, and outbreak incidence have been identified. The most common dental complications are gingivitis (76 %), multiple caries (61.9 %) and trigeminal nerve damage (60.5 %). Conclusions. Herpes virus infections in children in Ekaterinburg are characterized by a high prevalence, consistent with global trends, and are accompanied by a wide range of dental complications, which necessitates a dentist's knowledge of the epidemiology and clinical features of herpes virus infections in children.