Clinical and laboratory assessment of herpes simplex virus type-i in saliva from patients with recurrent aphthous ulceration

Abstract EN

enveloped deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) virus and significant ] human pathogen.

It infects most persons early in life, primarily at mucosal surfaces following exposure to infected | secretions, and causes a range of diseases from labialis and stomatitis to blinding keratitis and, rarely, encephalitis.

; Over 70% of the adult population have neutralizing antibodies to HSV and serve as reservoirs of the virus.

] Aims of the study: The aims of the study are to show the prevalence of HSV-1 among patients with recurrent I aphthous stomatitis.

(RAS) and correlate with sex, age and clinical features of patients in comparison with healthy I control and to determine the diagnostic role of direct immunofluorescent (IF) and enzyme linked immunosorbant 1 assay (ELISA) for detection of HSV-1 antigen and antibody in saliva.

| Materials and methods: Sixty patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis and thirty healthy control subjects were ! included in this study.

Saliva samples were taken from all the subjects (patients and healthy control) and examined j by direct IF and ELISA assay.

Two swabs from patients with oral herpes labialis were considered as a positive control.

Results: The results of our study showed that RAS affect both sexes with a wide age range but mostly in the second and third decades and comprising middle to upper class professional persons or students, mostly non-smoker and some with a family history of the same disorder.

The most commonly affected mucosa is the labial mucosa, buccal i mucosa, tongue, and rarely the soft palate and floor of the mouth.

Positive IF result was observed in 78.3% in | patients' subjects and 83.3% in healthy control.

While in ELISA, the positive result was found in 55.0% in patients and 76.7% in control subjects.

1 Conclusion: There were a significant correlation between the IF and ELISA methods.

As far as the saliva is regarded as a tansudate of the serum and it contain the same antibodies as serum; although in smaller amounts, so, it can be used as a substance to detect the immunoglobulins because ifs easily available and simply examined.

(J Bagh Coll Dentistry 2010:22(4): 119-125).