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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

A Primary Neuron Culture System for the Study of Herpes Simplex Virus Latency and Reactivation
Published on: April 2, 2012
Herpes simplex types 1 and 2: latency in the genital tract of guinea pigs
1Virology Laboratory, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, CT 06516.
Abstract:
Guinea pigs were infected with herpes simplex virus (HSV) intravaginally and then sacrificed during latent infection. Virus was recovered from the ganglia, spinal cord and genital tissues by co-cultivation after 1-6 weeks in culture. The virus could not be recovered from the genital tract during the first week of co-cultivation, nor from homogenized genital tissue. Cultivation of genital tissues with acyclovir did not reduce the recovery of HSV. Thus, HSV appeared to establish a truly latent infection in the genital tract and not a persistent infection as previously described.
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