- Herpesvirus
- : One of a family of viruses that contain DNA and that cause infections in humans (human herpesviruses) or animals. Herpes viruses are common, and often live in the host’s tissue for years or even decades without causing symptoms.
* * *- cercopithecrine h. an h., in the family Herpesviridae, affecting Old World monkeys, that is very similar morphologically to herpes simplex virus; fatal infection may occur in humans following the bite of an infected monkey, although other modes of transmission have also been documented. SYN: B virus.- human h. 3 SYN: varicella-zoster virus.- human h. 4 SYN: Epstein-Barr virus.- human h. 5 a highly species-specific h. (Cytomegalovirus) with particular affinity for the salivary gland tissue. SYN: salivary gland virus, salivary virus.- human h. 6 a human h. that was found in certain lymphoproliferative disorders, replicates in a number of different types of leukocytes, and is associated with the childhood disease roseola (exanthema subitum).- human h. 7 virus found in association with human T lymphocytes and is shed in the saliva of most adults; however, a causal relationship to any known disease has not been determined.- human h. 8 a linear double-stranded DNA virus that induces Kaposi sarcoma (KS) in immunodeficient persons. DNA sequences unique to this virus are regularly found in KS specimens from HIV-negative persons as well. The virus is also associated with several uncommon lymphoproliferative syndromes in AIDS patients, including multicentric Castleman disease and primary effusion lymphoma (body cavity–based lymphoma).Among persons with AIDS, Kaposi sarcoma occurs in 15–25% of male homosexuals but only in 1–3% of persons who acquire AIDS by nonsexual routes ( e.g., hemophiliacs and other transfusion recipients). These facts support the hypothesis that the virus is sexually transmitted. KS is characterized histologically by abnormal vascularization and the presence of proliferating endothelial cells, fibroblasts, infiltrating leukocytes, and spindle-shaped tumor cells. Replication of HHV8 occurs only in a small subset of spindle cells, but the majority of such cells are latently infected. Spindle cell proliferation is apparently triggered by growth factors released from HIV-infected cells. Spindle cells, in turn, produce factors that promote angiogenesis. HHV8 DNA can also be found in circulating CD19 B lymphocytes in 40–50% of AIDS patients with KS. Serologic assays are available for anti-HHV8 antibodies, most of them using viral antigen from cell lines derived from body cavity–based lymphomas. Viral replication is insensitive to acyclovir, but is inhibited by ganciclovir, foscarnet, cidofovir, and interferon alpha.- H. saimiri an ubiquitous infection of squirrel monkeys that is highly oncogenic when injected into other monkey species.- suid h. the causative agent of pseudorabies.
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n.one of a group of DNA-containing viruses causing latent infections in animals (including humans). The herpesviruses are the causative agents of herpes and chickenpox. The group also includes the cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus. Herpesvirus simiae (virus B) causes an infection in monkeys similar to herpes simplex, but when transmitted to humans it can produce fatal encephalitis.* * *
her·pes·vi·rus (hurґpēz-vi″rəs) [herpes + virus] any virus belonging to the family Herpesviridae. herpesviral adj
Medical dictionary. 2011.
