title: Acyclovir-resistant corneal HSV-1 isolates from patients with herpetic keratitis.
abstract: The prevalence and molecular characteristics of isolates from 173 immunocompetent patients with herpetic keratitis (HK) who were infected with acyclovir (ACV)-resistant (ACV(R)) corneal herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 was determined. Isolates from 11 (6.4%) of the patients were ACV(R), and 9 of these 11 patients were refractory to therapy with ACV; the ACV(R) isolates from 5 and 1 of these 9 patients were cross-resistant to gancyclovir and to both gancyclovir and foscarnet, respectively. Of the 11 ACV(R) isolates, 10 had, in the thymidine kinase gene, mutations that presumably conferred the ACV(R) phenotype. These data demonstrate a relatively high prevalence of corneal HSV-1 ACV(R) isolates in patients with HK, which emphasizes the need to monitor for ACV susceptibility in patients with HK who are refractory to therapy with ACV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Rory D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.forename: Albert D M E
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Osterhaus
authors.forename: Lies
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Remeijer
authors.forename: Georges M G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Verjans
mesh_terms: D000212:Acyclovir / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003315:Cornea / Q000821:virology*; D024921:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D017245:Foscarnet / Q000494:pharmacology; D015774:Ganciclovir / Q000494:pharmacology; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D016849:Keratitis, Herpetic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D013937:Thymidine Kinase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D017245:Foscarnet; D013937:Thymidine Kinase; D015774:Ganciclovir; D000212:Acyclovir