Two cases of herpes simplex encephalitis at the University hospital of the West Indies

ABSTRACT

Two antigenically distinct herpes simplex viruses (HSV) are described. They were isolated from clinically diagnosed cases of acute encephalitis in a 10-year-old boy and a 36-year-old man. These viruses were identified as HSV by standard complement-fixation neutralized and cytopathology in different host systems. However, these isolates differ from classical HSV in the following aspects (1) inability to infect adult Swis albino mice; (2) stability to organic solvents; (3) inability to be neutralized by hyperimmune sera to HSV-1; (4) requirement of chromatography on DEAE-cellulose to render them susceptible to DNase. In contrast, freezing and thawing alone were sufficient to render the HSV-1 susceptible to DNase. Further investigations will be necessary to determine whether the differences observed between the HSV-1 and the neurotropic strains provide sufficient basis for the establishment of a new sub-group for the encephalitic strains (AU)