herpes simplex
Last reviewed 08/2023
- Herpes simplex is an acute viral disease
- it causes blisters and sores around the mouth, nose, genitals, and buttocks, but they may occur almost anywhere on the skin.(1)
- the oral and genital mucocutaneous surfaces are the primary sites of infection(2)
- there are two types of Herpes infection:
- Type I Herpes virus
- HSV I is spread by infected saliva and is therefore spread by close personal contact.
- it is most commonly associated with oral-facial lesions
- marked by groups of vesicles on the skin, often on the borders of the lips or nares - cold sores
- most (80%) with oral-facial HSV infections have a subclinical primary course (2)
- the patient can be a carrier for an indefinite period of time (2)
- Type II Herpes simplex
- HSV II - is a genital infection and is usually spread by genital contact
- it is marked by groups of vesicles on the genitalia - genital herpes
- Type I Herpes virus
- when herpes simplex infection is accompanied by fevers the disease is termed herpes febrilis.
- HSV is a poor immune stimulator but can cause cross reactivity and thus cross resistance. By the age of 40, 85% of the population has antibodies to HSV. This prevalence is reached by age 5 in developing countries.
- both types of herpes simplex, can be spread by touching an unaffected part of the body after touching a herpes lesion
(1)
- most herpes may be transmitted even in the absence of lesions (1)
- the infections may reappear periodically (1)
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