Clinical Manifestations and Sequelae (continued)

Complications of Genital HSV Infection

Aseptic meningitis is a complication of genital HSV infection. It occurs more commonly:

• In primary than in recurrent infection,
• With HSV-2 than with HSV-1, and
• In women than in men (36% of women with primary HSV-2 infection versus 11% of men).

Aseptic meningitis may be severe, requiring hospitalization, parenteral narcotics, or both. There are generally no neurologic sequelae.

Rare complications of genital HSV infection include stomatitis, pharyngitis, radicular pain, sacral paresthesias, transverse myelitis, autonomic dysfunction, disseminated (viremic) infection, fulminant hepatitis, ocular involvement (more common with HSV-1), and herpetic whitlow (more common with HSV-1).

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