HSV

Meaning of HSV: HSV causes lifelong infection with two distinct types, one typically producing oral cold sores and the other typically producing genital sores.

Definition of HSV

HSV is the abbreviation for herpes simplex virus, a virus that establishes a lifelong infection in nerve tissue after the initial exposure, periodically reactivating to cause recurrent symptoms. There are two recognized types, herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2, which are closely related but tend to differ in where they most often cause symptoms.

Type 1 infection most often produces sores around the mouth and lips, commonly called cold sores, while type 2 infection most often produces sores on the genitals, though either type can infect either location. Both types are also referred to using the alternate designations human herpesvirus 1 and 2.

Because HSV remains in the body indefinitely after the first infection, symptoms can recur periodically over a person's lifetime, often triggered by factors such as illness, stress, or sun exposure, and the virus can be transmitted even during periods when no visible sore is present.