Herpes, An Essay

The infectious disease called Herpes Simplex is caused by the transmittance of the HSV-1 virus via contact with a sufferer. Common names for the disease are: cold sores, fever blisters, oral/mouth herpes or Herpes Simplex labialis. In this essay I shall be looking at the symptoms, variant strands, diagnosis, treatment and the personal/social impact of the disease.

Infection by the Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1) is symptomized by the growth of blisters, and usually open sores in later periods of outbreaks, on the infected area, whether on the mouth, eyes, genitalia or less common areas. Once an area is contaminated by the disease, usually through contact with the outbreak of a person suffering the disease, the infected individual will begin to feel a tingling sensation in the area within 1-2 weeks of infection. Eventually red spots will grow in the area and then develop into blisters within a week. These blisters will then burst into open sores which is the period in which the disease is most transmittable. The primary outbreak, of newly contracted HSV, is typically more severe than any of the following outbreaks. The two identified variants of the Herpes Simplex Virus, HSV-1 and HSV-2, share these symptoms but differ in associated areas of the lesion outbreaks, facial region and genital region respectively (though either variation can cause either disease) , and likeness of and periods between recurrences. It has been noted that in some cases of Genital Herpes there is no immediate outbreak upon transmittance of the HSV from host to patient. This fact is especially true of HSV-2 patients, of which 10-25% were unaware that they had contracted the virus as shown by studies.
Genital Herpes is more commonly caused by HSV-2 but is known to be caused by HSV-1. Initial outbreaks of genital herpes can be quite severe and accompanied by symptoms