Progress toward a genital herpes vaccine

An investigational vaccine protected some women against infection from one of the two types of herpes simplex viruses that cause genital herpes, according to the findings of a US National Institutes of Health-funded study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The vaccine was partially effective at preventing herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), but did not protect women from herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). There were less than half of the cases of genital herpes caused by HSV-1 - 58% fewer - in women who received the investigational vaccine compared to women who received the control vaccine.

"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," said Robert Belshe, director of the Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development and lead author of the study, adding: "It's a big step along the path to creating an effective vaccine that protects against genital disease caused by herpes infection. It points us in the direction to work toward making a vaccine that works on both herpes simplex viruses."