Color enhanced Transmission Electron Micrograph (TEM) reveals the presence of numerous herpes simplex virions, members of the Herpesviridae virus family. There are two strains of the herpes simplex virus, HSV-1, which is responsible for cold sores, and HSV-2, which is responsible for genital herpes. At the core of its icosahedral proteinaceous capsid, the HSV contains a double-stranded DNA linear genome. HSV-1 and HSV-2 can be found in and released from the sores that the viruses cause, but they also are released between outbreaks from skin that does not appear to have a sore. Generally, a person can only get HSV-2 infection during sexual contact with someone who has a genital HSV-2 infection. Transmission can occur from an infected partner who does not have a visible sore and may not know that he or she is infected. HSV-1 can cause genital herpes, but it more commonly causes infections of the mouth and lips (fever blisters). HSV-1 infection of the genitals can be caused by oral-genital or genital-genital contact with a person who has HSV-1 infection. Genital HSV-1 outbreaks recur less regularly than genital HSV-2 outbreaks. Magnification: unknown.