Genital herpes simplex virus infection and gonorrhoea. Association and analogies

Abstract

Cultures for both N. gonorrhoeae and herpes simplex virus (HSV) were obtained in 132 women attending a venereal disease clinic in Atlanta. Of 80 women with positive gonococcal cultures, 4 (5%) had genital Type 2 HSV infection (one primary case); of 52 women with negative gonococcal cultures, three (5.8%) had genital Type 2 HSV infection. These findings do not support the recently proposed hypothesis that gonorrhoea triggers recurrences of genital herpes. Results of this and two other studies indicate that 5 to 13% of women with gonorrhoea have concomitant genital herpetic infections, and that for every 5 to 14 cases of gonorrhoea, one case of genital herpes would be expected. The frequency of cervical cellular atypia in women attending the VD clinic was approximately 3 times that detected in women attending a municipal hospital, suggesting that VD clinics are key areas for cervical cancer screening.