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The causative agent is the herpes simplex virus which is contracted through saliva, kisses or, more generally, through direct contact with infected people. After the regression of the first infection, the cold sores virus has the peculiar characteristic of go to take refuge, through the nerves of the skin, in the neuronal ganglia closest to the site of infection. Here, the pathogen enters into latency, that is, it not only survives the immune system, but is not even eliminated through the use of drugs. Even after a long time, the herpes of the lips can recur: the virus takes advantage of the states of "weakness" of the organism (drops in the immune defenses, periods of stress, general fatigue, etc.), then reactivates and causes the classic labial lesions.
-1). To a lesser extent, cold sores can also be caused by the herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), which is usually responsible for genital infection.
The virus penetrates the organism through the skin and mucous membranes, where it infects the epithelial cells and causes their death, from which the vesicles and other typical lesions of the disease follow.
