Overview of Herpesvirus Infections

ByKenneth M. Kaye, MD, Harvard Medical School
Reviewed/Revised Dec 2023
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Some common viral infections are caused by a group of viruses called herpesviruses. Eight different types of herpesviruses infect people:

Did You Know...

  • All of the herpesviruses cause lifelong infection because the virus remains dormant in some of the cells it infects.

All of the herpesviruses cause lifelong infection because the virus remains within its host cell in an inactive (dormant or latent) state. Sometimes the virus reactivates and produces further episodes of disease. Symptoms from reactivation can be different than the symptoms of the initial infection. Reactivation may occur rapidly or many years after the initial infection. (See also Overview of Viral Infections.)

Treatment of Herpesvirus Infections

Some antiviral medications have been developed to treat one or more herpesvirus infections.

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