Herpes HSV – Causes, Symptoms and Diagnosis
L'herpès simplex est une infection virale causée par l'une des variantes du virus HSV. Il existe 8 types de virus de l'herpès parmi lesquels HSV 1 et HSV 2 sont les plus courants. Une épidémie du virus de l'herpès entraîne des boutons de fièvre, qui peuvent se produire sur les organes génitaux et la bouche le long des voies nerveuses. L'herpès génital fait référence à une infection génitale par le virus de l'herpès simplex. L'herpès zoster ou le zona est causé par un autre virus appelé virus de la varicelle zona (VZV). Les patients atteints d'herpès simplex sont de 3 à 4 fois plus susceptibles de contracter le VIH et cette nouvelle information rend d'autant plus nécessaire la prise en charge en temps voulu de l'herpès oral et génital!
Le virus de l’herpès a une étrange capacité à résider dans les ganglions nerveux derrière la barrière hémato-encéphalique dans un endroit où le système immunitaire ne peut pas l’atteindre. C’est la raison pour laquelle il a complètement échappé au traitement de type occidental, aucun médicament ne pouvant l’être il est en sommeil.
Étapes de l'infection par l'herpès
Le virus de l'herpès a tendance à rester dormant en se cachant dans les ganglions nerveux et provoque des épidémies lorsque l'immunité est compromise. Les stades des infections à Herpes sont les suivants:
Primary stage: Within 2-8 days of infection, the virus starts off as small, red, painful and fluid filled blisters. These blisters form sores when they break open and eventually dry up.
Latent stage: In this stage there are no symptoms at all as the virus travels to the nerve ganglia.
Shedding stage: Once the virus reaches the nerve ganglia, it starts multiplying and invades body fluids such as semen, vaginal fluids and saliva. These fluids are responsible for shedding or transmitting the virus and hence this stage is known as the “Shedding stage”.
Symptômes de l'herpès
Oral herpes (Mostly caused by HSV 1) is characterized by red, fluid filled blisters on the lips, mouth and tongue. There is severe pain, tingling, difficulty in eating and swallowing accompanied by fever.
Genital herpes (Mostly caused by HSV 2) is characterized by reddish, fluid filled blisters around the genitals which bursts open to form sores or ulcers. These blisters when present in the genital region result in painful micturation and causes pain while passing stools (if present in the anal region). Other symptoms include headache, bodyache and fever and are prevalent in both men and women.
Please note that both HSV 1 and HSV 2 can cause both genital and oral herpes.
Chicken pox (Caused by Varicella zoster) is characterized by rash, general malaise and low grade fever. In 2-3 days, the rash forms in to vesicular eruption and cause severe itching. After 5-6 days, these eruptions turn into scabs. Rashes appear all over the body except for the palms and soles. Once afflicted with chicken pox, the body develops a natural immunity and the virus remains dormant in the human body.
Cytomegalovirusis a herpetic virus associated with the salivary glands. It affects immune – compromised individuals, such as new born infants, organ transplant recipients and HIV patients. It causes vision problems, diarrhea, infection of the stomach and could even be fatal.
Roseola (caused by Human herpes virus 6 and Human herpes virus 7) is characterized by skin rash and high fever in the pediatric age group. This infection could lead to convulsions in children.
Infectious Mononucleosis (caused by Epstein-Barr virus) is characterized by fever, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, body-ache, headache and swollen tonsils. A person may remain symptomless even when infected.
Diagnostic de l'herpès
Your physician may preliminary diagnose Herpes by looking at your sores. He or she may then take a sample of the cells in the sore and send it to a lab for a cell culture. Doctors then may recommend blood tests to confirm the presence of the Virus. Specific tests for blood and fluid from eruptions may be conducted to determine whether the infection is due to HSV1 or HSV2. The most common type of blood test done for the herpes virus are the antibody tests that look for antibodies that your body has created to fight the virus. We always have antibodies for anything we have been infected with. There are now more accurate PCR DNA tests that look for the actual virus in the blood and our Doctors recommend taking PCR DNA tests to find out if the actual virus is left in your blood stream or not.
