Clinical Symptoms of Genital Herpes Simplex Infection?

Based on Subsection 2.1, Section 2 of the Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Herpes Simplex (issued in conjunction with Decision 5183/QD-BYT in 2021), clinical symptoms of genital Herpes Simplex infection are defined as follows:

- Patients experiencing the disease for the first time are referred to as having primary genital HSV infection. Although HSV-1 and HSV-2 have different modes of transmission and affect different areas, the clinical manifestations of genital HSV-1 and HSV-2 are often indistinguishable clinically and can only be differentiated through testing.

- Most patients with primary genital HSV-2 infections exhibit symptoms and will subsequently experience recurrent episodes. Genital HSV-1 infections tend to recur less frequently. Symptoms of recurrent episodes are usually milder than those of the primary episode.

- Following a primary HSV-2 infection, asymptomatic viral shedding from genital lesions frequently occurs. As a result, HSV-2 is often transmitted by individuals who are unaware of their infection or those who do not exhibit symptoms at the time of sexual contact.

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