Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Herpes Simplex Virus 1


Hi.
My name is HSV-1.
I'm a double stranded DNA virus that's part of the Herpesviridae family.
I live in your nerves.
I have a primary infection, then recurrent infections.
My recurrent infection causes painful red blisters around your mouth.
These are called herpes labialis, or cold sores.
Bright sun can convince me to come out again, as well as stress, sickness and menstruation.

I can also cause a deadly encephalitis, which means I infect your brain.
If I get into your eye, I can give you herpetic keratitis and make you blind.

6 comments:

toby said...

And, of course, oral sex can transfer this virus from the mouth to a place you don't want it to be!
So be careful out there.

Anonymous said...

Cold saw, argh!

Anonymous said...

I agree with you toby. By the way, I think the tune of this blog is interesting.

DaveT said...

Cold sores are referred to herpes oralis, genital herpes is herpes gentialis. Herpes labialis is one of the forms of genital herpes

lxye[: said...

whoa. cool.
this makes it so much more fun to study microbiology.
your cartoons are really amazing!

Sharon said...

Hi,

1 in 4 sexually active teenagers become infected with an STD every year, in the United States alone. Now, more than ever, we need to join together to fight this growing issue. As I read through your website, it is clear that you share the same passion for STD/STI awareness. We here, at Disease.com, understand the importance of STD/STI prevention and treatments. If you could, please list us as a resource or host our social book mark button, it would be much appreciated. We can not reach every teenager, but together we can try.
If you need more information please email me with the sublect line as your URL.


Thank you,
Sharon Vegoe
Disease.com