Human infection is virtually universal - most adults are seropositive.
Fusion deposits the capsid in the cytoplasm, where it migrates to the nucleus . The core enters via a nuclear pore where the genome is circularized. The virus genome is accompanied by the a -TIF protein which functions in enhancing immediate early viral transcription via cellular transcription factors. Cultured neurones, in contrast to other cell types, show no reduction in protein synthesis following infection with HHV-1. The resistance of neurones to VHS may be important in allowing establishment of a latent infection.