The suppressive action of acyclovir and inosine pranobex was compared in a randomised double blind controlled trial in patients with frequently recurring genital herpes. Fourteen patients received acyclovir and 17 inosine pranobex. Treatment continued for 12 weeks. The time to the first recurrence was significantly longer and the frequency of recurrences significantly less in the recipients of ...

Ulcer material from consecutive patients attending clinics in Antananarivo, Madagascar, was tested using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (M-PCR) to detect Treponema pallidum, Haemophilus ducreyi, and herpes simplex virus. Sera were tested for syphilis and for IgG and IgM antibodies to Chlamydia trachomatis by microimmunofluorescence testing (MIF). By M-PCR, 33% of 196 patients had chancroid...

The presence of complement-fixing antibody to an early herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) antigen (the AG-4 antigen) was correlated with HSV-2 infection in the sera of patients with genital herpes. Eighty-eight per cent of sera taken two weeks after clinical diagnosis of a primary or recurrent herpes infection in patients, confirmed to have HSV-2 by virus isolation and typing, contained the an...

Neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections may be caused by either herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) or herpes simplex virus type-2 (HSV-2). In the United States, HSV-2 is responsible for 75% of genital and neonatal infections, while HSV-1 causes the rest. HSV-1 more commonly affects the oropharynx, the eyes and the central nervous system.1,2 It is estimated that 20 to 30% of sexually act...

214 patients with genital herpes infection proven by culture and a control group of 410 other patients were included in a retrospective study devised to investigate the relationship of circumcision to genital HSV infection in the male. The percentage of patients circumicised in the control group was significantly larger than in the herpes group (P less than 0-01). The was not found to be the ca...

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2 cause genital herpes infections and are the most common cause of genital ulcer disease in industrialized nations. Although these infections are very common, the majority of them remain underdiagnosed because they are asymptomatic or unrecognized. A clinical diagnosis of genital herpes should always be confirmed by laboratory testing; this can be accompli...

Herpes simplex viruses (HSVs) can cause a variety of infections, including genital herpes. Despite effective antiviral therapy, HSV infections remain a significant worldwide public health problem. Vaccines offer the best hope for controlling spread and limiting HSV disease. This article discusses the pathogenesis and immunobiology of mucocutaneous HSV infections, summarizes the spectrum of dise...

Herpes simplex virus infection and syphilis are the most common causes of genital ulcers in the United States. Other infectious causes include chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, granuloma inguinale (donovanosis), secondary bacterial infections, and fungi. Noninfectious etiologies, including sexual trauma, psoriasis, Behçet syndrome, and fixed drug eruptions, can also lead to genital ulcers. A...

A subunit antigenoid vaccine, Ac NFU1 (S-) MRC 5, was used in patients who had had a clinical episode of herpes genitalis. The rate of recurrence was compared with that in unvaccinated patients to determine the efficacy of vaccination in preventing recurrence and spread of the virus in the community. Seven of 22 (31%) vaccinated patients had eight recurrences after the initial clinical episode;...