L'utilisation des nouvelles sérologies herpétiques spécifiques de type a permis de mieux comprendre l'histoire naturelle de la maladie herpétique et de définir la primo-infection, la primo-manifestation et la récurrence herpétiques.

Les points importants concernant la clinique de l'herpès génital sont

Use of new specific herpes serology tests permits to better study the natural history of herpes infection and define primary infection, primary manifestation, and recurrence

The important points to consider are the clinical manifestations of genital herpes

• 80 p. 100 of infected patients are contagious but asymptomatic,
• the vast majority of all cases of genital herpes are caused by HSV2, but a significant percentage of primary genital herpes infections are caused by HSV1 (up to 60 p. 100 in recent studies). This percentage appears to be increasing,
• herpes is the first cause of genital ulceration in developed countries and more recently in African studies, due to the extension of HIV infection,
• definite diagnosis of genital herpes is difficult (low sensitivity of culture, high cost of PCR, inutility of serology) and the sensitivity of the clinical examination (30-40 p. 100 in many studies) is very low.