CASE OF THE MONTH

Herpes Simplex Infection


The patient is a 24-year-old graduate student who presents to her physician with fever, headache, myalgia, malaise, bilateral groin lymphadenopathy, and painless vaginal discharge. She has no significant past medical history, including chronic inflammatory disease. She denies recent illness. She has not traveled to nor had visitors from exotic places.

She denies exposure to unusual reagents or potentially infectious agents. Basic blood work as well as a pelvic exam, including Pap smear was performed. The Pap smear was reported as ASC-H. Follow-up colposcopy detected isolated areas of inflammatory change to the cervix. Cervical biopsies and an endocervical curettage were subsequently submitted for evaluation. A diagnosis of Herpes Simplex infection was assigned to both specimens.


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