Herpes simplex virus (HSV) commonly reactivates after stem-cell transplantation (SCT), despite acyclovir prophylaxis. Whether HSV-seropositive recipients with HSV-seronegative or type-discordant donors had more frequent and severe HSV infections than those with HSV type-concordant donors was explored. Banked serum samples from HSV-positive SCT recipients and their donors were tested for the pre...

BACKGROUND There have been few population-based studies of the seroprevalence and correlates of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) in Japan. METHODS We enrolled a total of 1244 adults, aged 18-59 years, from a population-based cohort in southern Japan, and tested their serum samples using an ELISA kit containing HSV type-specific antigens to glycoproteins G1 and G2. RESU...

Genital herpes is the most prevalent viral sexually transmitted infection worldwide and is mainly caused by HSV type 2 (HSV-2). HSV-2 infection enhances HIV-1 susceptibility, even in the absence of clinical symptoms. In this study, we investigated the effect of HSV-2 on HIV-1 transmission by mucosal Langerhans cells (LCs). LCs are important in heterosexual transmission because they form a barri...

UNLABELLED Very low levels of variability have been reported for the herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) genome. We recently described a new genetic variant of HSV-2 (HSV-2v) characterized by a much higher degree of variability for the UL30 gene (DNA polymerase) than observed for the HG52 reference strain. Retrospective screening of 505 clinical isolates of HSV-2 by a specific real-time PCR assay ta...

BACKGROUND The synergy between herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is well known, but lack of knowledge about the epidemiology of HSV-2 acquisition in HIV-1-discordant couples hampers development of HSV-2 prevention interventions that could reduce HIV-1 transmission. METHODS HIV-1-discordant couples were enrolled in Nairobi, Kenya, and followed ...

We performed a serological evaluation of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections at the time of labor. In order to determine the seroprevalence of asymptomatic HSV infections in pregnant women, blood samples were collected for antibody measurement from 130 randomly selected pregnant women. Presence of HSV IgG and IgM antibodies in the serum samples was tested by ELISA. The prevalence of HSV-1 gG1...

BACKGROUND Neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a serious, life-threatening infection that is usually acquired during birth from contact with infected maternal genital secretions. Primary maternal HSV gingivostomatitis is a rare occurrence during pregnancy, and HSV type 1 (HSV-1) neonatal disease after primary maternal HSV gingivostomatitis during pregnancy has not been reported in detail. ...

BACKGROUND A herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2 candidate vaccine consisting of glycoprotein D (gD2) in alum and monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) reduced genital herpes disease in HSV-1-seronegative women but not in men or HSV-1-seropositive women. METHODS To determine the effect of HSV-1 serostatus on effectiveness of different vaccines, we tested gD2 in alum/MPL, gD2 in Freund's adjuvant, and dl5-29 ...

The development of an animal model for herpes simplex virus (HSV) reactivation is of great importance in studying HSV latency, reactivation, recurrence, and chemotherapy. Epinephrine iontophoresis to the cornea can induce HSV type 1 (HSV-1) ocular shedding from latently infected rabbits. In the present experiment, adrenergic induction of HSV-1 was enhanced by iontophoresis of 6-hydroxydopamine ...

Dendritic cells (DCs) are essential to the induction of specific immune responses against invading pathogens. Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) is a common human pathogen that causes painful, but mild infections of the skin and mucosa, which results in latency and recurrent infections. Of the two HSV subtypes described HSV-1 causes mainly oral-facial lesions while HSV-2 is associated with genital herp...