Congenital Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection Mimicking Congenital Erosive and Vesicular Dermatosis: Possible Pathogenic Insights.

Congenital erosive and vesicular dermatosis (CEVD) is a rare entity of unknown etiology. We report a case of congenital herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 infection that healed with reticulated and supple scarring, similar to that seen in CEVD. Twenty percent of previously reported cases of CEVD had recurrent HSV infection throughout the first year of life. We postulate that at least some previous cases of CEVD may have been due to undiagnosed congenital HSV infection.