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  • 4 months ago
Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) has been with humanity for thousands of years. It hides in our nerve cells, waiting for the right conditions to reactivate and cause painful outbreaks. But herpes is more than just sores — it can lead to serious complications, including meningitis, neonatal infections, and an increased risk of HIV transmission.
In this video, we explore:
🔬 How herpes enters the body and hides in the nervous system
⚡ Why stress, fever, and UV light can trigger outbreaks
🧠 The dangers herpes poses to newborns and people with weak immune systems
Why finding a herpes vaccine has been so difficult
🔎 The latest research and hope for prevention and long-term control
Although scientists have created effective vaccines for other herpes viruses, like shingles, developing one for HSV-2 remains a challenge. Still, ongoing breakthroughs bring us closer to a future where herpes infections may be prevented — and their impact on human health reduced.
👉 If you want to understand herpes better — from its biology to the search for a vaccine — this video gives you the facts and the hope for what’s ahead.
Transcript
00:00Herpes simplex type 2 infections have caused disease in humans for millennia.
00:06The viruses enter the human body through the skin or the lining of the mouth or the vagina.
00:12Once they enter the cells, they make their way into nerve endings
00:16and travel to the cell bodies of the nerves that transmit pain and touch.
00:23Herpes simplex type 2 makes its way to the area of the nerves
00:28that transmit pain and touch signals, known as the dorsal root ganglia in the spinal cord.
00:35A notherpes virus, the type 1 virus, tends to take up residence in a similar region
00:43in the nerves that transmit pain and touch in the facial region, known as the trigeminal nerve.
00:52Herpes viruses remain hidden in infected persons
00:55for the lifespan of the individual.
00:59Stressful conditions such as heat, trauma, fever, ultraviolet light
01:05can reactivate the sleeping virus,
01:09at which time it travels back down the nerve to the skin or mucosa,
01:15causing new eruptions on the surface.
01:18Occasionally, especially in persons with weak immune systems,
01:22the virus can cause serious infections, such as meningitis or encephalitis or widespread disease.
01:33Herpes type 2 infections in newborns are fatal in 60% of cases if left untreated,
01:42and herpes sores are a major risk factor for the transmission of HIV.
01:48These characteristics of the virus cause significant sickness and, in some cases,
01:56even death in individuals with weak immune systems or in newborns.
02:03Given the seriousness of herpes infections,
02:06the development of a vaccine would have a major impact on the role herpes plays in human disease.
02:15But, finding a vaccine for the herpes simplex virus has not been a walk in the park.
02:24Whereas we've been able to develop a preventive vaccine for the shingles or herpes zoster virus,
02:31multiple trials of finding a suitable vaccine to prevent herpes simplex type 2 have failed.
02:39These failures have resulted from the various complexities of the virus.
02:45The virus carries the genetic code for an array of proteins that help it to evade the immune system.
02:53Some of these make the virus invisible to the immune system during its latency phase.
03:01Other proteins inhibit interferon, a major substance the body produces to eliminate viruses that enter the body.
03:12Another protein inhibits the complement system, which is also involved in fighting viruses that enter the body.
03:19Yet, other proteins encoded by the virus prevent the presentation of viral material to the immune system for recognition,
03:30thereby rendering the virus unrecognizable by the immune system.
03:37Given that vaccines work through the immune system,
03:42any vaccines we develop must therefore overcome these obstacles.
03:47We can see by the frequent recurrence of herpes lesions that even our own immune system is incapable of completely suppressing
03:57the reactivation of the herpes simplex type 2 virus.
04:03The vaccines we develop to treat herpes infections must therefore produce an immune response in humans
04:12that is more powerful than the natural immunity the virus itself triggers when it enters our bodies.
04:22Scientists are actively seeking to overcome these difficulties by developing vaccines
04:30that target many of the proteins that help the herpes virus evade the immune system.
04:38An effective vaccine should prevent viral shedding in people without active sores
04:46to reduce the risk of unknowingly transmitting the virus through shedding of the virus when there are no sores.
04:56Despite these formidable challenges,
04:59current vaccine research offers hope for a future breakthrough.
05:04The fact that we already have a preventive vaccine for another herpes virus,
05:11that is, the shingles virus,
05:13is evidence that a vaccine to prevent herpes simplex type 2 is doable.
05:20Now, while these challenges remain,
05:23vaccine research continues to offer hope for future breakthroughs.
05:28The question remains whether these vaccines will offer long-term suppression of symptoms
05:36and transmission for a viral infection that has plagued humanity for thousands of years.
05:46I hope you enjoyed this video.
05:48If you did, like and share the video with your friends and family.
05:52You can support this channel by subscribing.
05:56Until the next video,
05:58stay healthy and stay safe.
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