RECOMMENDATIONS OF IMMUNOLOGIST IN CASE OF RECURRENT HERPES SIMPLEX INFECTION

Abstract

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is a common contagious infection affecting nearly 60 to 95 proc. of human adults. They are incurable and persist during the lifetime of the host, often in latent form. HSV Type I can cause lesions and sores on and around the oral cavity, in addition to ocular herpes and encephalitis, more common in immunosuppressive persons. HSV Type II causes genital herpes with most infections occuring in adulthood and increasing with age. Recently HSV-1 has become the most common cause of genital herpes. Host resistance to HSV infections includes humoral and cellular immunity, although this virus establishes mechanisms allowing to escape host immune response and to persist in nervous cells in a latent form. Antiviral agents (aciclovir, valaciclovir) are of proven benefit for the treatment of HSV and long term supressive therapy is effective in preventing recurrent infection.