Antivirals may reduce asymptomatic shedding; asymptomatic genital HSV-2 viral shedding is believed to occur on 20% of days per year in patients not undergoing antiviral treatment, versus 10% of days while on antiviral therapy [REF].
The risk of transmission from mother to baby is highest if the mother becomes infected around the time of delivery (30% to 60%),[REF][REF] since insufficient time will have occurred for the generation and transfer of protective maternal antibodies before the birth of the child.