Viral Pemphigus Pictures - 35 Photos & Images

Different infectious diseases and immunizations can induce or exacerbate pemphigus, mainly by activating the cellular immune system. The nonself-antigen is presented to T lymphocytes and activates the T helper arm with its array of cytokines, eventuating the production of autoantibodies.

The most frequently incriminated infectious agents are the viruses of the Herpetoviridae family, namely herpes simplex, Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, and even human herpes 8. Research on the involvement of viruses in pemphigus began with the 1974 clinical report followed by confirmation of virus presence in pemphigus lesions by culture and later by polymerase chain reaction.

Despite the confusing clinical similarities of viral diseases and pemphigus, and because of the different critical outcome of the two conditions, it is important to diagnose viral infection in a pemphigus patient and initiate early antiviral therapy, often as an adjunct to immunosuppressive therapy. Viral isolation remains the most reliable laboratory means for viral diagnosis, followed by molecular biology techniques, which are more sensitive but less reliable and indicated only in cases in which the results of the former are not conclusive.