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- Herpesvirus FAQ
- Herpesvirus Infections in the Immunocompromised Patient
- Herpes-Related Web Sites for Clinicians
Herpesvirus FAQ
There are eight herpesviruses currently known to infect humans. These include:
- Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), associated with cold sores or fever blisters;
- HSV-2, most commonly associated with genital herpes;
- Varicella zoster virus, which causes chickenpox and shingles;
- Cytomegalovirus (CMV), associated with retinitis and pneumonia in immunocompromised people;
- Epstein-Barr virus, associated with infectious mononucleosis;
- Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV 6), causing childhood roseola;
- HHV 7, which is not associated with any disease;
- HHV 8, associated with Kaposi's sarcoma.
Despite the extensive range of symptomatology of herpesvirus infections, all are characterized by the establishment of latent infection in nerve cells, with possible reactivation by nonspecific physical or psychological stimuli, such as injury, illness, or stress.
To learn more about herpesvirus infections, click here to reach The Herpes Monitor. This American Herpes Foundation publication is available free of charge to all practicing clinicians and is available on our web site after publication and mailing. Later editions of The Herpes Monitor offer both Category 1 CME credits for physicians and CE credits for nurse practitioners.
Consequences of herpesvirus infections, especially for neonates and immunocompromised patients, can include severe morbidity—neonatal infections, sight-threatening eye disease, encephalitis, lymphoma—and even death. Because symptoms in otherwise-healthy individuals seem relatively benign, the threat of herpesvirus infection is frequently overlooked, and its importance as a virulent, pervasive, potentially severe disease is often discounted by healthcare providers and patients alike. This attitude towards herpesvirus infections has been instrumental in the unwitting spread of the disease, and must be corrected in order to control the prodigious spread of herpesvirus infections in the United States.
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American Herpes Foundation - Hackensack, New Jersey
Telephone (201) 342-4441 | Fax (201) 342-7555