What threatens a latent herpetic infection

Herpetic infection is a fairly common human disease.

According to the WHO, this infection is the second most frequent cause of death from viral diseases after influenza, and is also the second most common cause of death

from viral diseases.

Seroepidemiological studies detect antibodies to herpes simplex virus

in serum, indicating a high prevalence of herpes infection.

In adults, the percentage reaches 90% of cases, and in 73% of cases antibodies are detected against HSV-2, which mainly causes genital herpes

.

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how the herpes virus affects the immune processes in the body.

• The main properties of the causative agent of herpes infection
• The behavior of the herpes simplex virus in the body
• What is the danger of herpes infection
• The effect of herpes infection on immune processes
• The unique ability of the latent existence of the herpes virusa

The main properties of the causative agent of herpetic infection

The causative agent of herpes infection belongs to the family of herpes viruses (Herpes viridae)

.

Now more than 60 types of herpes simplex viruses are known, but for humans only 8 of them are pathogenic.

The causative agent of herpetic infection is very resistant to environmental influences.

For example, at a temperature of -70 degrees, the virus can persist for a very long time. But at a temperature of +50 degrees, the virus is inactivated within 30 minutes, due to its thermolability.

Also, the herpes virus loses its virulence under the influence of x-rays and ultraviolet radiation

.

Herpes virus in the practice of a dentist

Main characteristics of herpes simplex virus:

the causative agent of herpetic infection develops
• intracellularly and is capable of infecting practically all organs and systems, causing different forms of infection – acute, latent, chronic;
the main feature of herpes infection is the ability to
• persist in the body throughout life and provoke various diseases in immunodeficiency conditions;
Infection with herpetic infection occurs precisely in childhood. As a result, by
• 5-6 years of age approximately 80% of children are affected.

The herpes simplex virus is able to integrate into the genetic apparatus of its host cell and remains in this form

for life.

Effective prevention of herpes zoster

The behavior of the herpes simplex virus in the body

The virus begins to multiply under favorable conditions for it, and new virions infect the cell, getting into the lymphatic vessels, then into the blood, namely into the blood cells.

This contributes to an increase in the functional activity of erythrocytes, platelets and leukocytes, which over time

leads to immunosuppression.

In the case of a normal immune response, the herpes virus is eliminated from tissues and organs, except for the paravertebral sensory ganglia, where they remain in a latent state until the end of life.

With insufficient activity of macrophages, cytotoxic lymphocytes and T-cells, as well as with a decrease in the secretion of mediators of the immune system, the virus is activated

I.

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What is the danger of herpes infection

The danger of herpetic infection lies in

direct oncogenic action, which has been proven in practice.

This is manifested by a dysfunction of proto-oncogenes, which leads to the development of

cancer of the vagina and cervix in women, as well as prostate cancer in men (in the case of genital herpes).

Asymptomatic carriage of the virus in women is a risk factor for congenital herpes infection in children in 75%, as well as habitual miscarriages.

In addition, the mechanism of immunosuppressive action on immunocompetent cells with further formation of circulating immune complexes has been proven.

The processes described above can lead to

damage to spermatozoa in men in the form of impaired gamete motility and the formation of antisperm antibodies.

All this leads to

the development of male infertilityI.

Genital herpes: the main drugs for the treatment of the disease

Influence of herpetic infection on immune processes

At the end of the 20th century, L.N. Khakhalin found that in patients with a recurrent form of genital herpes infection,

specific immunodeficiency is observed.

It is based on the unique ability of replicating viruses and active viruses to produce a protein that blocks the genes of the HLA system, which prevents the immune system from controlling the infection.

It has been proven that during herpes infection, herpes simplex viruses can not only parasitize in blood cells, but also

adsorb on the surface of microbes, which allows them to penetrate into the cytoplasm of the microorganism cell.

This localization of the virus

prevents the action of the body's defenses.

At the same time, a double infection causes an increase in the effect of the herpetic process on tissues and organs, which may

t contribute to generalization of herpetic infection .

The unique ability of the latent existence of the herpes virus

The most important property of the herpes simplex virus is its ability to

inactive existence in the body.

Latent infection results from the presence of a virus in the ganglion cells of the nervous system.

There is another mechanism of recurrence of genital herpetic infection, which is manifested by the constant

release of the virus from the sacral ganglia.

As soon as the threshold of the content of viral particles exceeds its norm, a clinical form of herpetic infection develops in the genitals. Such herpes is very

prone to recurrence.

Thus, about 30 million adults in the United States of America have recurrent genital herpes, while

more than 500,000 new cases are registered annually.

In most cases, the recurrent course of herpes infection in the genitals has a subclinical form.

What

methods of treatment of herpetic infection are relevant today, as well as which groups of drugs it is advisable to use, read in our articles.

Evidence Based Medicine: Immunomodulators in the Treatment of Herpes