Trial herpes vaccine fails to protect against HSV-2
Jan 4, 2012
Bottom line: The experimental herpes vaccine was 58 percent effective at preventing genital herpes from HSV-1, but did not show protection against HSV-2. The study was published in the Jan. 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "We were disappointed it did not meet the primary [goal], which was protection against all types of genital herpes," said study author Dr. Robert B. Belshe.
Here is the same story from multiple reputable sources:
- Herpes Vaccine Falls Short in Clinical Trial (NY Times)
- Herpes Vaccine Fails to Protect Women (ABC News)
- Experimental herpes vaccine disappoints in study (CBS News)
- Potential herpes vaccine disappoints researchers (USA Today)
- Trial herpes vaccine misses mark for protection in young women (MSNBC)
Researcher’s herpes vaccine work meets resistance
Nov 20, 2011 | The State Journal Register (Springfield, IL)
A Springfield researcher’s development of a vaccine to protect against genital herpes, one of the world’s most common sexually transmitted diseases, has received a skeptical reception from the international scientific community so far, but the researcher is neither surprised nor discouraged. Read more »
Another Study Finds Gel May Reduce the Risk of Herpes
Nov 2, 2011 | BET
While doing research on AIDS medications, two South African researchers discovered that a vaginal gel they were testing that can reduce a woman’s chance of contracting HIV by 39 percent also can cut the risk of contracting genital herpes by 51 percent. Read more »
Herpes Virus Could Kill Aggressive Breast Cancer
Oct 26, 2011 | Fox News
A genetically engineered version of the virus that causes herpes shows promise as a treatment for a particularly aggressive type of breast cancer, according to a new study in animals. Read more »
Mononucleosis in the herpes family
Aug 11, 2011 | Livestrong
Mono is classified as a herpes virus because once you've been infected, the virus stays in your body for the rest of your life. However, you probably won't get the symptoms of mono more than once. Read more »
Researchers: genital herpes more virulent in Africa than U.S.
May 07, 2011 | Harvard University
Strains of genital herpes in Africa are far more virulent than those in the United States, researchers at Harvard Medical School report, a striking insight into a common disease with important implications for preventing HIV transmission in a region reeling from the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The researchers arrived at this finding by testing mouse model strains of the disease against vaccine candidates. All vaccines were far more efficacious in abating the U.S. strain. Read more »
Global Herpes Simplex Virus treatment market to reach $4.8 billion by 2017
May 07, 2011 | San Francisco Chronicle
Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) is a commonly found human pathogen. Globally, an estimated 4.0 billion people are infected with Herpes Virus. The incidence rate of cold sores, caused by the HSV1 virus, is the second largest worldwide, trailing only behind common cold. About 79% of the US population is infected with HSV1, with about 25-35% of the adults enduring recurrent spate of cold sores. In all, close to 100 million outbreaks of cold sores occur each year in the US. Meanwhile, Genital herpes, caused by HSV-2, is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the US. The rate of occurrence of genital herpes varies across different countries in developing regions. Certain African nations dealing with HIV epidemic are experiencing a high prevalence of HSV-2 infection. Read more »
Gov't: Some products falsely claim to treat STDs
May 4, 2011 | WebMD
Two federal agencies are cracking down on bogus claims made by companies that tout their products as treatments, cures, or preventive medications for sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes, genital warts, and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Read more »
Even without symptoms, genital herpes can spread
April 16, 2011 | NPR
According to a new study, people who test positive for herpes simplex virus-2 can shed the virus even though they have no symptoms. Infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Leone discusses how herpes is spread and whether people without symptoms should be tested for the virus. Read more »
Symptom-free herpes contagious 10% of the time
April 12, 2011 | CNN
People who carry the genital herpes virus but have no visible symptoms -- and may not even be aware they're infected -- are still capable of spreading the virus about 10% of the time, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Read more »
The challenge of a herpes simplex vaccine
February 17, 2011 | Australian Life Scientist
Herpes simplex virus type 2 has managed to evade vaccine strategies to date, although DNA vaccines might finally offer a solution. Read more »
Dan Savage: "Herpes is not a big deal"
July 13, 2010 | Savage Love
On the Savage Love podcast, Dan Savage talks talks about sex in a no-holds-barred way. The way it’s done is just damn refreshing. On episode 195 (or you can download the mp3 file directly), he has a fun time with Dr. Anna Kaminski from Planned Parenthood about a number of sex-related topics, a major one they focus on is herpes (starting in the audio at 12:02). It’s a funny and informative discussion ultimately breaking it down to the fact that herpes is just “not a big deal.” Dr. Anna says “Herpes causes so many tears and fights and breakups … It’s really important for people to understand how common is, how little problem it causes and how much strife goes into the discussion about it.” Both Dan and Dr. Anna agree: herpes is just blown way too far out of proportion. Read more »
Overcoming the Stigma of Herpes
May 26, 2010 | New York Times Health
Genital herpes may be the largest epidemic no one wants to talk about. An estimated one out of five Americans over the age of 12 quietly harbor a meek but distressing virus that can cause painful and ugly outbreaks on areas that seldom see the light of day. The silence has as much to do with the disease as concerns over what it can do to a budding romance. Symptoms, at least for most, are either nonexistent or so mild that it's often nearly impossible to notice an infection. The main harm in suffering herpes, as many will attest to, comes from the dread of telling your partner the truth. Read more »
Positive Side of Herpes Infection
May 17, 2007 | Scientific American
Latent herpes virus infections may keep the immune system on alert, and thus better able to deal with other infectious agents.
You don’t hear a lot of positive news about herpes. But a new study in the May 17th issue of the journal Nature shows that in some cases a herpes virus infection might actually be really good for you. Individual mice with chronic herpes virus infections were better able to ward off some deadly bacteria, including the one that causes plague and another that causes food poisoning. Read more »
