Local herpes simplex virus (HSV) isolates were characterized by the use of BamHI, KpnI, and EcoRI restriction endonucleases. Analysis of 120 clinical isolates by observation of presence or absence of cleavage sites and of mobility variation in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragments from the terminal and joint regions of the HSV genome revealed that 112 (93.3%) were type-2 (HSV-2) and the others were type-1 (HSV-1), mixed HSV-2 and HSV-1, and mixed HSV-2 strains. The genomes of HSV-2 isolates were highly conserved and could be classified into 25 distinct restriction endonuclease (RE) cleavage patterns, which differed from those obtained with isolates of other countries.