Herpes simplex virus (HSV)
Herpes simplex virus infections
Diagnosis and treatment
Diagnosis:
Identification of HSV-DNA by nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAT) in skin lesions is useful to confirm clinical diagnosis and enables differentiation of HSV-1 vs. HSV-2 vs. VZV.
Identification of HSV-DNA in CSF, aqueous humor or tissue biopsy is recommended for diagnosis of infection of specific sites. Tissue antigen detection may be used when NAT is not available
Notes on treatment:
for treatment optimization, see Anti-infective/ART interaction table
Drug / Dose | Comments | |
---|---|---|
Initial and recurrent genital/ mucocutaneous HSV |
See Sexual and Reproductive Health Section | |
Severe mucocutaneous lesions | aciclovir 5 mg/kg tid iv |
After lesions begin to regress, switch to oral treatment for 21-28 days or longer, until lesions have healed |
Encephalitis, retinitis or infection of other sites (e.g., GI) | aciclovir 10 mg/kg tid iv |
14-21 days If retinitis, consult ophthalmologist |
Aciclovir resistant HSV infection | foscarnet 90 mg/kg bid iv |
Until clinical response If foscarnet is not available, cidofovir 5 mg/kg once weekly can be used. Topical cidofovir and foscarnet can be used for external lesions |