Subclinical reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1 in the oral cavity.
Reactivation in the oral cavity either symptomatically (recrudescence) or without symptoms (recurrence) may contribute to the transmission of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), especially in critical areas of exposure such as dentistry. In order to measure the frequency of HSV-1 reactivation, nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on oral swabs collected from 30 healthy people over a period of 58-161 days. In total 19 of 25 (76%) seropositive people were PCR-positive at least once, 6 of these 19 (32%) had recrudescence and 13 (68%) had only asymptomatic reactivation. Frequencies of additional recurrences were higher in people showing symptomatic reactivation than in those who had only recurrences. Recrudescence is a risk factor for elevated levels of asymptomatic HSV-shedding. In most cases HSV-1 was detected only by nested PCR investigated by early onset of therapy or time span before sampling.
Knaup
B
B
Institute of Microbiology and Virology, University of Witten/Herdecke, Witten, Germany.
Schünemann
S
S
Wolff
M H
MH
D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000821:virology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013283:Stomatitis, Herpetic / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000635:transmission; D014775:Virus Activation; D017201:Virus Shedding
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G