Immunity to herpes simplex virus: a hypothesis.

This article discusses some possible reasons why people vary in susceptibility to primary infection by herpes simplex virus (HSV), and, in addition, why some individuals suffer lesions upon viral reactivation from latency. An underlying hypothesis is that the effectiveness of various aspects of innate immunity, conditioned by the person's microbial exposure in early life, may affect susceptibility to HSV infection, the nature of the initial adaptive immune response, and the efficacy of the memory-recall reaction following reactivation. Could domicile in a super-sanitized environment result in more troublesome problems with HSV such as is suspected to explain the rising tide of allergy?