Introduction
Experimental herpes simplex infection of the rabbit eye resembles primary ocular herpes in man. As in man, conjunctivitis is often associated with the keratitis and may be more severe than the keratitis. Evidence for the presence of virus infection in the cornea has been well documented over the years. Scrapings from the dendritic lesions show the viral type of giant cells. Intranuclear inclusions are not usually visible in epithelial scrapings but can be seen if the cornea is sectioned. Specific localization of the viral antigen can be regularly demonstrated by staining the epithelial scrapings with specific fluorescein-tagged antisera (FA stain).1-3 Recently Pettit et al4 correlated this localization of the antigen by FA staining with its localization by the electron microscope.Although the conjunctivas of eyes inoculated with herpes virus become inflamed, definite conjunctival lesions have not been clinically demonstrable. Experimentally, however, a few observers—notably Goodpasture and Teague