Oral Acyclovir for Treatment and Suppression of Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Infection A Review

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1986

Publication Title

Journal of the American Medical Association

Volume

255

Issue

13

First page number:

1747

Last page number:

1749

Abstract

ACYCLOVIR is the only antiviral agent shown to be effective for the treatment of genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. Effective therapy for this disease, however, has a different meaning from that for other sexually transmitted diseases. When we speak of effective therapy for gonorrhea, we mean that therapy cures the disease. The presence of gonorrhea in a patient is an indication for treatment. A clinician cannot ethically choose not to treat a patient with gonorrhea. Likewise, the patient with gonorrhea cannot refuse treatment. Public health regulations usually require that patients with gonorrhea be treated, not only to prevent further damage in the patient but to prevent transmission of disease. In contrast, the presence of genital herpes infection is not necessarily an indication for acyclovir treatment. Public health regulations do not require either the clinician to prescribe or the patient with genital herpes to accept therapy.

Keywords

Antiviral agents; Herpes genitalis – Law and legislation; Herpes genitalis – Treatment; Herpes simplex virus; Public health laws

Disciplines

Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications | Health Services Research | Male Urogenital Diseases | Public Health | Viruses

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or use interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the article. Publisher copyright policy allows author to archive post-print (author’s final manuscript). When post-print is available or publisher policy changes, the article will be deposited

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