Cold Sores

Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), also known as Human herpes virus 1 and 2 (HHV-1 and -2), are two members of the herpes virus family, Herpesviridae, that infect humans. Both HSV-1 and -2 are ubiquitous and contagious. They can be spread when an infected person is producing and shedding the virus.

Symptoms of herpes simplex virus infection include watery blisters in the skin or mucous membranes of the mouth, lips or genitals. Lesions heal with a scab characteristic of herpetic disease. However, as neurotropic and neuroinvasive viruses, HSV-1 and -2 persist in the body for the life of the carrier by becoming latent and hiding from the immune system in the cell bodies of nerves. After the initial or primary infection, some infected people experience sporadic episodes of viral reactivation or outbreaks. In an outbreak, the virus in a nerve cell becomes active and is transportated via the nerve’s axon to the skin, where virus replication and shedding occur and cause new sores.

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