Herpetic Eye Disease Study: All You Should Know
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) keratitis is the leading cause of corneal blindness in developed as well as developing countries. The ocular disease affects approximately 10 million people worldwide. Herpes viruses are a group of double-stranded DNA viruses with three subfamilies: alpha-, beta- and gamma- herpes viruses. HSV-1, HSV-2, and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) belong to the alpha-subfamily. HSV spreads by direct contact with virus shed by saliva or genital secretions. During primary infection, HSV-1 infiltrates the corneal epithelial cells. Here it lyses the host cells and releases virions which in turn infect neighboring cells. Then the HSV travels via neuronal cells to trigeminal ganglion and establishes a latent infection. HSV can remain latent for lifetime by storing its genome in the nucleus of the host neuronal cell. While latent, it produces latency-associated transcripts (LATs) that maintain the integrity of the viral genome. The latent HSV-1 can reactivate and return to the

