[A study of the relationship between initial febrile seizures and human herpes virus 6, 7 infections].

The DNA detection of human herpes virus (HHV) 6, 7 was performed in the patients who visited to the Nakano children's hospital because of their initial febrile seizures (FS). Those patients included 35 boys and 21 girls under 3 years of age (mean: 1 year 4 months). DNAs of HHV 6, 7 in the mononuclear cells extracted from peripheral blood were detected in 84% of the patients. This study proved that at least 34% of initial FS are caused by HHV 6 or 7 infections. Forty-seven percents of the patients who were clinically diagnosed as exanthema subitum showed complex type FS. In conclusion, HHV 6 and 7 infections are often related to the occurrence of initial FS, which may be in part caused by their direct invasion to the central nervous system.