Child health · UKMLA & AKT
Primary herpetic gingivostomatitis
A free high-yield preview for the UKMLA Applied Knowledge Test, covering how to recognise this condition. The full SA Note notes add investigations, management and complications, with practice questions on this topic.
Key high-yield points
- HSV-1 - responsible for the vast majority of primary oral infections and cold sores (herpes labialis)
- HSV-2 - primarily causes genital herpes; can occasionally produce oral disease but much less common
- Transmission via direct contact with infectious secretions (saliva, vesicle fluid) or asymptomatic viral shedding
HSV-1 establishes lifelong latency in the trigeminal ganglion after primary infection - all recurrent cold sores arise from reactivation of this latent virus.
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