Herpes has been known to exist for thousands of years. Old texts discovered by the ancient Greeks described the Herpes Simplex Virus as being present as early as the 5th century, but it was only recently (within the past 100 years or so) that it's been understood.
The Herpes Simplex Virus was first formally recognized by Hippocrates (460 to 370 BCE), who wrote about the symptoms of herpes, particularly the lesions.
The name herpes is derived from an ancient Greek term, herpein, meaning "creeping or latent," as in the way it spreads across the skin. The Greeks referred to herpes as sores that would creep onto the skin. The Roman emperor, Tiberius, emperor (AD 14 to 37), believing the "creeping" to be the cause of herpes, banned kissing and outlawed the action as a means to end this unsightly creeping across the flesh. No one was to kiss at public gatherings, which "creeping" was first named herpes in 1906.
Aulus Celsus, who wrote on health matters in approximately this same period, advised cauterizing herpes blisters with a red-hot iron. Ouch!
Shakespeare also described herpes in one of his literary works. In scene IV of Romeo & Juliet, he refers to cold sores when he describes blisters "o'er ladies' lips". At the same time, people of the era believed sweetmeats (confections) caused herpes. People also thought that Queen Mab, a fairy, could cast a spell on a person and give them herpes.
In the 18th century, the French categorized this creeping or latent atrocity as a disease associated with the work of prostitutes. The 1800s produced evidence that herpes was transmitted from person to person (French scientist Emile Vidal) and that herpes wasn't eczema or pemphigus, which also "creeps" but is not contagious.
A book, The Genital Herpes, was published by French doctors (Charles-Paul Diday and Adrien Doyon) in 1886.
In 1896, a German physician (Paul Unna) determined how to identify herpes under a microscope, which was no trivial pursuit as herpes and Syphilis were often present in a patient simultaneously.
Moving into the 1900s, a German ophthalmologist, Wilhelm Gratter, was able to transfer the Herpes Simplex Virus from an infected person to the cornea of a rabbit and back again. This test, named The Grater Test, was used to diagnose herpes until the 1940s.
In 1925, American virologist Ernest Goodpasture demonstrated that the herpes virus travels through nerve pathways, not through the bloodstream.
In the 1920s and 1930s, researchers discovered that herpes infects the Central Nervous System (CNS) and the skin. Frank Burnet, an Australian microbiologist, determined that herpes viruses reside in the nerve ganglia when not actively present. In 1971, scientists Jack Stevens and Marjorie Cook proved this.
A French scientist, Arnaud Tzanck, developed a different diagnosis for herpes to replace The Grater Test.
In 1978, the first antiviral drug, Acyclovir, was developed by Gertrude Elion. It was tested in humans and determined to be a safe and effective prescription medication. Acyclovir remains the standard medical treatment for HSV, although not without side effects.
Even further back in history, new research published in Virus Evolution states Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-2) jumped the species barrier between 1.4 and 3 million years ago from Paranthropus boisei, a flat-faced, thick-toothed hominid. Cold sores (caused by HSV-1) date back even further.
Note: While I disagree with scientists who claim we evolved from apes (I believe we share more similarities with sea creatures), I do acknowledge that certain viruses have crossed the divide between animals and humans throughout history.
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