[Evaluation of 80 virologically-confirmed cases of ocular herpes. Study of the correlation between the type of virus and the epidemiologic characteristics of the disease].

80 strains were isolated from patients with herpetic ocular infection during the period May 1979 to May 1981: 17 patients with herpetic blepharitis, 40 patients with superficial keratitis and 23 with deep stromal keratitis or kerato-uveitis. Among 63 patients treated with antiviral agents, clinical resistance to the drug was observed in 17 cases. The strains were typed as HSV 1.1, 1.2 or 2.2 by seroneutralization and thermosensitivity in cellular cultures. No relationship between the viral types and the patient age, previous history of corticosteroid therapy and the response of ocular lesions to antiviral treatment were detected. It appeared that there was a relationship between the viral type and the clinical type of infection: 70% of herpetic blepharitis and 83% of superficial keratitis were due to HSV 1.1 while 71% of stromal keratitis were due to HSV 1.2. No HSV 2.2 was isolated. These results seem to support the hypothesis that genetic differences between herpetic virus strains may determine their virulence.