ABSTRACT
Herpesviruses are double-stranded animal viruses with the unique ability to establish latent life-long infections. To date, although there are about 80 members in the family Herpesviridae, only eight human herpesviruses have been identified that exhibit distinct biologic, clinical and pathologic properties. The eight viruses include herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2), varicellazoster virus (VZV, HHV-3), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV, HHV-4), cytomegalovirus (CMV, HHV-5), human B-cell lymphotrophic virus (HBLV, HHV6) and Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated virus (KHSV, HHV-8). Human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) has been isolated from blood leukocytes but is presently not associated with a specific disease.
