Clinical recurrences of Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV‐1)‐associated genital herpes are thought to be caused by reactivation of latent endogenous HSV‐1. However, the possibility of reinfection with exogenous HSV‐1 cannot be excluded. This study aimed to determine the incidence of genital HSV‐1 superinfection in patients by investigating the genotype of sequential HSV‐1 isolates obtained from the same anatomical site of patients with clinical recurrences of genital HSV‐1 recurrent genital herpes. Sequential genital HSV‐1 isolates were genotyped by PCR amplification of the hypervariable regions located within the HSV‐1 genes US1 and US12. Whereas the sequential HSV‐1 isolates in 11 of the 13 patients studied had the same genotypes, the sequential isolates of 2 patients showed a different genotype. The data suggest that HSV‐1‐induced recurrent genital herpes can be associated with genital reinfection with an exogenous HSV‐1 strain. J. Med. Virol. 73:601–604, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.