**2. Herpes virus**

The Herpes Virus (HV) are a members of the family Herpesviridae widely spread in nature that can infect a wide variety of species of at least two animal phyla, the Chordata and the Mollusca [1]. It is a virus about 150–200 nm in diameter, with icosahedral nucleocapsid DNA double helix containing an envelope which derives from the nuclear membrane of the host cell with viral glycoproteins that protrude on the surface.

To date a total of 8 human HVs are known, having the characteristic of establishing a life-long latent infection: a state from which the virus can be reactivated and result in recurring disease. The HV family is divided into three subfamilies (Alphaherpesvirinae, Betaherpesvirinae, and Gammaherpesvirinae); among these, only the αHV creates skin lesions in humans [2]. The Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), creating the general clinical picture of herpetic disease, and the Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV), which is the cause of chickenpox and Herpes Zoster (HZ), both belong to αHV.
