Jan 5, 2012

Herpes Vaccine Only Does Half The Job

Herpes Vaccine
A new experimental herpes vaccine has failed in its mission to protect women against the Herpes 1 and Herpes 2 virus.  The vaccine had high hopes but will not live up to its claims.

The vaccine is developed by GlaxoSmithKline and was meant to protect against both strains of the herpes virus.

The study which involved 8300 women between the ages of 18 to 30,  partially protected against HSV-1.  HSV-1 is very common and typically causes cold sores but can also cause genital herpes.  The strain HSV-2 that most commonly causes genital herpes was not affected by the vaccine.



Study author Dr. Robert Belshe, director of the Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development, stated, "There is some very good news in our findings. We were partially successful against half of the equation - protecting women from genital disease caused by HSV-1,".

Over 50 million adults in the U.S. have herpes with up to 1.6 new infections occurring each year, according to WebMD.  This number is probably not accurate considering that herpes does not have to be reported to local health officials.  The only way to 100% not be infected by a sexually transmitted disease is to practice abstinence.  Condoms will reduce the chances of transmitting herpes but because herpes is spread by skin-to-skin contact condoms will not stop the spread of herpes.  People should not engage in sexual activity if they have any symptoms of herpes.  

The CDC has more information and statistics about genital herpes.

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