Herpes family viruses

Herpes family viruses: Herpesviridae is a large family of DNA viruses that cause diseases in animals, including humans. The members of this family are also known as herpesviruses. The family name is derived from the Greek word herpein ("to creep"), referring to the latent, recurring infections typical of this group of viruses. Herpesviridae can cause latent or lytic infections.

At least five species of the Herpesviridae – HSV-1 and HSV-2 (both of which can cause orolabial herpes and genital herpes), varicella zoster virus (the cause of chickenpox and shingles), Epstein–Barr virus (implicated in several diseases, including mononucleosis and some cancers), and cytomegalovirus – are extremely widespread among humans. More than 90% of adults have been infected with at least one of these, and a latent form of the virus remains in most people.

Nine herpesvirus types are known to infect humans: herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2, also known as HHV1 and HHV2), varicella-zoster virus (VZV, which may also be called by its ICTV name, HHV-3), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV or HHV-4), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV or HHV-5), human herpesvirus 6A and 6B (HHV-6A and HHV-6B), human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7), and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV, also known as HHV-8). In total, more than 130 herpesviruses are known, some of them from mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and mollusks.

Some antiviral drugs are effective against some kinds of herpesvirus.