Effect of chlorhexidine on the in vitro and in vivo herpes simplex virus infection

Several investigations have recently shown that chlorhexidine (CHX) has antiviral activity, and they have indicated possible clinical use of CHX for the control of intraoral herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. In the present study, we have evaluated the in vitro and in vivo therapeutic efficacy of CHX against type 1 HSV (HSV-1) infection. CHX moderately, but significantly, inhibited the replication and cytolytic activity of HSV-1 in Vero cell monolayers. When 0.2% CHX was applied topically onto the HSV-1 infected forehead skin of mice, the development of viral lesions and the viral titers in the skin and trigeminal ganglia were also moderately reduced. These data indicate that CHX oral rinse may be beneficial for the control of intraoral HSV-1 infection in certain patients, and warrants further controlled clinical study.