GotHerpes.com hosts information on herpes, and provides support to sufferers.
Title
Genital Herpes Information and Support at GotHerpes.com
Description
WHAT IS HERPES SIMPLEX?
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a common cause of infections of the skin and mucous membranes and an uncommon cause of more serious infections in other parts of the body. The word "herpes" is derived from the Greek word "herpein," which means "to creep." It may be a reference to the unique characteristic pattern of all herpes viruses to travel up local nerves to the clusters at the end (the dorsal root ganglia ), where they remain in an inactive (latent) state for some indeterminate time. (Herpes simplex should not be confused with other herpes viruses, including human herpesvirus 8, now believed to cause Kaposi's sarcoma, and herpes zoster, the virus responsible for shingles and chicken pox.)
Herpes Types
HSV is one of the most difficult viruses to control and has plagued mankind for thousands of years. There are two distinct types of the virus:
They can occur separately or can infect the same individual. Although the general rule has been to assume that HSV-1 infections occur in the oral cavity and are not sexually transmitted, while HSV-2 attacks the genital area and is sexually transmitted, it is now widely accepted that either type can be found in either area and at other sites. In fact, in new cases of genital herpes the number of HSV-1 cases now matches and even exceeds that of HSV-2. For purposes of this report, HSV-2 refers to genital herpes and HSV-1 to oral herpes, unless the distinctions are specifically discussed.
