An outbreak of herpes simplex virus type I gingivostomatitis in a dental hygiene practice

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Abstract
An outbreak of herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 gingivostomatitis occurred in a dental hygiene practice in Nov., 1981. An epidemiologic investigation disclosed that 20 of 46 patients seen by the dental hygienist during a 4-day period had this illness; none of 26 patients seen by the dentist alone became ill. One day after the outbreak, the hygienist was found to have a herpetic whitlow. Identical endonuclease restriction enzyme type 1 HSV was isolated from the left index finger of the hygienist and from 9 of 16 patients. The 9 patients with positive cultures all had at least a 4-fold increase in complement fixing antibody titer. A similar significant increase in titer indicated another 7 cases.

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