Herpes simples: uma doença negligenciada

Abstract

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a major public health problem worldwide, affecting quality of life and causing serious morbidity and mortality. Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease of high prevalence caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV), causing lesions on the skin and mucous membranes of the male and female genital organs. As one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, genital herpes is a public health problem with significant physical and psychological morbidity. Genital herpes is caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 or type 2 and can manifest as primary and / or recurrent infection. Therefore, the objective of this study is to discuss the genital herpes virus being a neglected disease in Brazil, since there are no reported cases of the disease, and it is not considered a compulsory disease. In addition, the importance of the development of interventions aimed at disease prevention will be shown. This study is a bibliographical study, starting from a literature review in order to acquire familiarity with the exposed problem and to understand its particularities. We conducted research on Virtual Health Bases, such as Scientific Electronic Library online - Scielo, USP thesis database, Pubmed and Google Scholar, from 2006 to 2018. Given the results of the study, it was seen that genital herpes is a disease sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, trichomoniasis, so that it is not compulsorily notifiable like the others, thus being a neglected disease. It is therefore important that this type of STI be notified in health systems throughout Brazil as other compulsory diseases, as it is a serious public health problem.