Why Herpes is Different From Other Viruses

By rjoachim | October 28, 2023
Herpes is able to establish latency. This means that the virus can hide in nerve cells and remain dormant for long periods of time. When the virus is dormant, it is not producing new viral particles and it is not causing any symptoms. However, the virus can be reactivated by a variety of factors, such as stress, illness, or immunosuppression. When the virus is reactivated, it can cause new blisters or sores.
Herpes is highly contagious, even when there are no visible symptoms. The virus can be shed in saliva and genital secretions, even when the person is not having an outbreak. This means that people can pass the virus to others without even knowing that they are infected.
Herpes has no cure. There are medications that can help to reduce the frequency and severity of outbreaks, but there is no cure for the virus itself. This means that people who are infected with herpes will have the virus for life.
In addition to these key differences, herpes also differs from other viruses in a number of other ways. For example, the herpes simplex virus (HSV) genome is very large and complex. HSV also has a number of unique genes that allow it to evade the host immune system and establish latency.
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