Can Herpes Cause a Brain Infection?

QUESTION: I am aware of the sexual disease of herpes and know that cold sores
can also come from this virus, but I have just learned of a new herpes
disease. A fellow employee has just been hospitalized for a brain infection
diagnosed as Herpes. Can herpes cause a brain infection?
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ANSWER: Yes, it can. But it is not a new disease, just a different organ
attacked by the already known viruses. Herpes simplex encephalitis
(encephalitis means brain infection) is the most common form of nonepidemic
encephalitis in the United States.
Herpes infections are harbored in the nerve tissue and skin, and may lie
there in a dormant or "sleeping" stage for long periods of time. The sores
caused by the infection are often brought on by physical or emotional stress.
Why a small percentage of people who have a herpes infection come down with
encephalitis rather than the typical and common cold sore is not known. As
you know, up to 95% of the people in America have been exposed to one of the
two herpes simplex viruses (HSVs). Cold sores or fever blisters are usually
caused by HSV-1 and sores on the genitals are usually caused by HSV-2, but his
doesn't always hold true, as both varieties may attack either site.
The symptoms for herpes simplex encephalitis are headache, nausea,
vomiting, fever, and lethargy, symptoms which are commonly seen in
encephalitis from whatever cause, or infecting bug or virus. Unless the
disease is properly diagnosed and treated, it can progress to coma and death.
This encephalitis is especially dangerous in infants who may be infected with
HSV-2 during birth.