Herpesviridae

Herpesviridae is a large family of DNA viruses that cause infections and certain diseases in animals, including humans.

The members of this family are also known as herpesviruses. The family name is derived from the Greek word ἕρπειν (herpein 'to creep'), referring to spreading cutaneous lesions, usually involving blisters, seen in flares of herpes simplex 1, herpes simplex 2 and herpes zoster (shingles).

In 1971, the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) established Herpesvirus as a genus with 23 viruses among four groups. As of 2020, 115 species are recognized, all but one of which are in one of the three subfamilies.

Herpesviruses can cause both latent and lytic infections. The occurrence of latent infections caused by these viruses could be linked to the genome's abundance in inversions which facilitate viral genome integration