Herpes Simplex Virus

Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Shannon Cole, DNP, APRN-BC

KEYWORDS
 Herpes simplex virus  Sexually transmitted infection  Management

KEY POINTS
 Genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are among the most prevalent sexually
transmitted infections in the United States.
 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation for clinical diagnosis is
confirmation through type-specific virology and type-specific serology tests.
 The diagnosis of herpes can cause life-long psychological complications.

Although most of the key findings related to herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection and
treatment have been made in the twentieth century, the first knowledge of HSV can be
traced to the ancient Greeks. Hippocrates was the first to describe lesions that could
have been attributed to HSV. For centuries, the terminology used by early investiga-
tors continued to evolve, because many skin conditions, such as cutaneous lupus,
were described as being herpetic. It was not until the nineteenth century that the
term herpes was used to describe infections characterized as vesicular appearing
for a limited duration.1
Genital HSV infections are among the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections
(STI) in the United States. Genital HSV continues to be a public health concern
because of its recurrent nature and potential for complications. Current treatment is
not curative, but rather serves to shorten the duration of symptoms and improve qual-
ity of life. Current therapies include episodic treatment and chronic suppressive ther-
apy and are generally well tolerated and effective. This article provides a description of
the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, complications, manage-
ment, and ethical considerations associated with HSV.

EPIDEMIOLOGY

Genital herpes affects more than 400 million persons worldwide.2 The Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 776,000 people in the United States

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, 461 21st Avenue South, 368 Frist Hall, Nashville, TN
37240, USA
E-mail address: shannon.cole@vanderbilt.edu

Nurs Clin N Am 55 (2020) 337–345

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cnur.2020.05.004 nursing.theclinics.com
0029-6465/20/ª 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.