CLINICAL AND VIROLOGIC STUDIES ON FEMALE GENITAL HERPES

  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 60  (4) , 456-461
Abstract
Women (90) with genital herpes were studied clinically and virologically. From a clinical standpoint, these patients could be classified into 3 clinical types; acute, recurrent and provoked. When herpes simplex virus (HSV) strains isolated from these patients and asymptomatic virus secretors were typed, 36 strains were determined to be type 1 (HSV-1) and the remaining 54 to be type 2 (HSV-2). The acute type was caused mainly by primary infection of HSV-1 or HSV-2 and by infection of HSV-2 in the absence of heterologous antibody. Of 40 HSV strains isolated from recurrent, provoked and asymptomatic virus secretors, 35 were identified as HSV-2, suggesting that HSV-2 may play a major role in establishing latent infection in the female genital region.