Two cases of pharyngitis caused by primary herpes simplex virus infection

Abstract

Although primary herpes simplex virus （HSV） infection is usually asymptomatic, it sometimes causes gingivostomatitis or pharyngolaryngitis. Serum viral titer is useful for diagnosis of HSV primary infection. However, even anti-HSV IgM antibody （HSV-IgM） frequently remains negative during the early phase of primary infection. Here, we describe two cases of pharyngitis caused by primary HSV infection, which showed different serological patterns of anti-HSV-IgM antibody and anti-HSV IgG antibody.