Study finds no clinically relevant associations between HSV-1 genotype and herpetic keratitis outcomes

The authors genotyped primary corneal herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) isolates of 178 herpetic keratitis patients to determine the prevalence of HSV-1 glycoprotein G (gG, gene US4) and gI (gene US7). Genotype B was the most frequently expressed HSV-1 genotype compared with genotypes A and C. Thirty-one percent of the isolates had different genotypes in both loci, suggesting that they are intergenic recombinants. However, the researchers did not find any clinically relevant associations between HSV-1 genotypes and HSV-1-induced keratitis disease outcomes.