What is herpes simplex virus

The herpes simplex virus is frequently spread in daily life, causing serious damage to human skin health. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, it is called heat sores, which often occur on the genitals and surrounding areas. To treat this virus, we must first isolate the transmission and then provide treatment.

Herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), also called human herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 (HHV-1 and -2), are two species of the Herpesviridae family that infect humans. Both HSV-1 and -2 are ubiquitous and contagious. Herpes simplex virus is spread when a person produces and sheds the virus. Symptoms of herpes simplex virus infection include blisters on the skin or mucus membranes of the mouth, lips, or genitals. The lesions show herpes-like crusting typical of the virus. When the virus strikes, it can cause very mild or unusual symptoms. However, as neurotropic and neuroinvasive viruses, HSV-1 and -2 reside within the body's nerve cells by lying dormant and evading the immune system. After the first infection, some patients experience viral reactivation or sporadic outbreaks. When the disease occurs, the virus in the nerve cells becomes active and transfers to the skin through the nerve axons, where viral replication and release occur, causing new pain.

Herpes simplex is a viral skin disease caused by the herpes simplex virus, known as heat sore in traditional Chinese medicine.

Herpes simplex belongs to the a-virus subfamily of the herpesviridae family, and the viral plasmid is about 180 nanometers in size. The virus is currently divided into type 1 and type 2 based on antigenic differences. Type 1 is primarily acquired from oral lesions, and type 2 can be isolated from genital lesions. Infection is due to person-to-person contact. The number of people infected from four months to several years after the onset can reach 50-90% of the total population. It is the virus that is most susceptible to invading humans, but only a part of them will develop the disease clinically. This disease can be divided into: oral herpes, herpetic keratitis, herpetic dermatitis, genital herpes, Kaposi's disease, etc., and is sometimes also the cause of meningitis and encephalitis. Herpes on the lips is generally easier to diagnose, and can recur due to various stimuli such as sun exposure and fever. The virus can proliferate in large quantities on the chorioallantoic membrane of chicken embryos and in cultured animal cells of humans, monkeys, chickens, etc. In addition, type 2 virus has a transforming effect on vole cells, etc. Herpes viruses are also suspected to be associated with cervical cancer in humans.

Classification

HSV has two serotypes, namely HSV-1 and HSV-2. The nucleotide sequences of the two types of viruses have 5% homology. There are common antigens and specific antigens between the types. The types can be distinguished by using type-specific monoclonal antibodies for ELISA, DNA restriction enzyme cutting map analysis and DNA hybridization tests.