What you must know about herpes simplex virus

Herpes simplex is part of a group of other herpes viruses called Herpesviridae, that include human herpes virus 8 (the cause of Kaposi’s sarcoma), herpes zoster (the virus responsible for shingles and chicken pox) and cytomegalovirus (CMV).

There are two strains of the virus: type 1 (HSV1), usually associated with the mouth, lip, and face infections and is responsible for cold sores and fever blisters; and type 2 (HSV 2), usually associated with infections of the sex organs (it is the main cause of the condition known as genital herpes) and both of these strains of virus can cause extremely painful infections in humans.

Although it must be considered that even though these outbreaks may occur infrequently, the virus does stay in the body indefinitely. By the time the person has reached adulthood, it is considered that about 90% of people will have manufactured antibodies that act against the herpes simplex one strain.

The herpes simplex type 2 virus is normally connected with genital herpes, and usually sexually transmitted. The symptoms of the type 2 viruses include genital sores as well as all oral sores and ulcers. This virus, if remaining untreated, may also result in other diseases such as eye infections. A lot of people who are infected with either the type 1 or 2 virus do not show any symptoms whatsoever.