Virological study of recurrent intraoral herpes simplex virus infection

Abstract

Recurrent HSV infection result from reactivation of HSV latent in nerve tissue due to the local epithelial irritants in systemic diseases, such as immunosuppressive diseases.
The oral manifestation of recurrent intraoral herpes simplex virus infection are usually small vesicles and shallow ulcers, but the oral manifestation will be a variety form in systemic diseases.
In this case a 50-year-old man with a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus was referred to the Department of Oral Diagnosis, Tohoku University School of Dentistry on June, 17, 1983, for diagnosis and treatment of erosive lesions involving the labial gingiva and buccal mucosa bleeding at the slighetest touch.
The cause of the lesion was verified by routine cytologic, serologic and fluorescent antibody techniques. 1 year later he had again oral lesions from which HSV was isolated and his blood glucose level was above 160mg/d1 while the oral lesions were present.
The reason we especially reported this case was that it was an uncommom form of oral manifestation which was due to diabetic microangiopathy.
Therefore in this report we show that if a recurrent HSV infection is diagnosed in a patient, the patient should be referred for a complete medical evaluation to rule out underlying systemic disease or immuno-suppressive disease