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The herpes simplex virus is one of the most common pathogens in humans, who are seropositive for the virus in 90% of the cases at the adult age. It determines reccurent infections in more than a third of the population and these infections depend on the immune response of the host. Ocular infections of newborns are due to the herpes simplex virus type 2, meanwhile type 1 is found predominantly at adults; almost all ocular structures can be affected. HSV-1 in the most frequent etiologic agent in infectious anterior uveitis (with the varicelo-zosterian virus) and it is responsible for 6-10% of all cases of anterior uveitis. More than half of the keratouveitides due to HSV will develop intraocular hypertension and open-angle secondary glaucoma, during reccurences and most of them will resolve after proper control of inflammation.

Herpetic keratitis is an increasingly frequent pathology, especially among the adult population. Untreated, it can lead to ocular complications difficult to treat and even to visual disabilities. Also, recurrent episodes should be diagnosed and treated appropriately in order not to leave room for the complicated forms, which often lead to a slow and incomplete visual recovery.

The paper presents a case of spontaneous perforation of the cornea happened on an eye with neglected relapsed herpetic keratitis. It is discussed the role of corticotherapy, local toxicity of used antiviral drugs and neurotrophic troulles in the territory of the ophthalmic nerve, as being factors which could have hurried up the evolution towards the perforation. The relapses specific to infections with herpes simplex are favoured by the cantonment of the virus, in latent state, in the trigeminal ganglion but also possibly in the ocular tissues (including the cornea). The use of corticosteroids in deep herpetic keratitis must permanently have in view the possibility of persistence of the virus in the corneal tissue.