Herpes simplex virus infection: problems and prospects as perceived by a peripatetic pediatrician.

The multivaried aspects of the herpes simplex viruses (HSV) types 1 and 2 and the infections they produce are discussed. Points emphasized are: (1) the need for considering these (and other viruses) from an evolutionary perspective; (2) the necessity of disseminating current methods for virus identification; (3) the great progress in molecular-virological aspects and in the genetics of the virus which provide new tools for epidemiological and immunological studies and define more convincingly the possible causal role of HSV-2 in cervical carcinogenesis; (4) the problems with vaccines and the therapeutic advances and failures; (5) the great psychosocial aspect of some herpetic infections and the need to be sympathetic and supportive to afflicted patients and their families; (6) the overreaction regarding HSV that currently exists among physicians, nurses, the public, and the press resulting in increased misery for those afflicted or misdiagnosed, or in poor advice or management given by some physicians pressured in part by the fear of malpractice suits. The problems then are many but the prospects for their solution are in sight as more research at all levels is being conducted today in all corners of the world on the complex herpes simplex viruses.