RESEARCH ARTICLE


Herpes: Issues Under the Cold Sore



Shavitri Mahendiran1, Craig G. Burkhart*, 1, Craig N. Burkhart2
1 University of Toledo College of Medicine, Sylvania, OH, USA
2 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA


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Creative Commons License
© 2010 Mahendiran et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the University of Toledo College of Medicine, 5600 Monroe Street, Suite 106B, Sylvania, OH 43560, USA; Tel: 419-885-3403; Fax: 419-885-3401; E-mail: cgbakb@aol.com


Abstract

Herpes simplex virus is a widespread disease affecting about one-third of the world's population. Many individuals suffer from its painful and debilitating manifestations, which greatly impact daily living and can lower one's self-esteem and confidence. It is therefore vital to understand this disease process including its acquisition, replication, transmission, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment in order to better manage patients. While herpes can have many negative consequences, it also appears to offer some benefit to humans through a symbiotic relationship. In this review of herpes, there are three important points that need to be emphasized. First, herpes can be found in all organs throughout the human body and not just the dorsal root ganglion. Secondly, herpes has been proven to be recurrent by laboratory testing. Thirdly, hospitals should institute respiratory (not merely skin) precautions for herpes zoster due to potential airborne transmission.

Keywords: Herpes simplex, herpes zoster, airborne transmission, bimodal temporal distribution, herpes reactivation, polymerase chain reaction, recurrent herpes zoster, genetically engineered herpes.