Clinical features of herpes genitalis.

Summary The clinical and laboratory findings in 81 patients with primary and recurrent herpes genital infections have been described. By careful appraisal of the gross lesions, the clinical course of the disease, and the laboratory findings, one can usually distinguish between primary and secondary infection. A good correlation was noted between the clinical impression of primary or recurrent disease and the laboratory diagnosis of primary or recurrent disease. Of 67 patients with positive viral cultures, nine were type 1 herpesvirus (13.4%) and 58 were type 2 herpesvirus (86.6%). Fourteen of 81 patients with a clinical diagnosis of herpesvirus genital infection had negative cultures obtained from the vulva and cervix (17.3%). Our prior clinical impression that prior type 1 infections frequently, but not uniformly, offered some degree of protection against subsequent type 2 herpesvirus infections was confirmed. Although the vast majority of patients with clinical herpesvirus infections demonstrate predictable laboratory findings, notable exceptions have been demonstrated.