[Recurrent herpes infections. Viral isolation and serological study]

A virological and serological follow up study was carried out on 17 patients with recurrent herpetic infection; labial (5 cases), genital (10 cases) and buttocks infections (2 cases). The follow up of each patient covered, on the average, a period of four months, with a minimum of four samples per patient taken for viral isolation and serological study, in recurrence as well as in latent periods. Viral isolation was obtained in 59% of the samples taken during recurrence period with active lesions and in 6.4% of the samples taken during asymptomatic periods or latent infections. Results suggest the existence of a direct relationship between the number of samples and the detection of asymptomatic viral excretion, a situation which makes us conclude that the excretion is higher to the one we detected. No modifications in antibody titers were observed as measured with the HAI technique, in asymptomatic and symptomatic periods. The serologic typification showed en 83% concordance between the two methods used, indirect hemagglutination with the estimation of an index II/I value and with inhibition of indirect hemagglutination. The results so obtained indicate that 100% of the labial herpes were type 1; of the genital herpes approximately 40% were type 1 and 60% were type 2. It was interesting to note that all the patients with genital herpes type 1 had less than 30 years of age while on the contrary the majority of the cases with genital herpes type 2 were older than 45 years of age.