Herpes Drug Doesn't Reduce HIV Infection Risk

The herpes drug acyclovir doesn't reduce the risk of HIV infection, a new study says.

The five-year trial included more than 3,400 African couples in which one partner had HIV and one partner was HIV-free, Agence France Presse reported.

The infected partners were randomly selected to take twice-daily doses of acyclovir or a placebo.

During the study, there were 41 HIV infections among couples in which the infected partner took acyclovir, and 43 HIV infections among those who took a placebo. The researchers said this wasn't a significant difference, AFP reported.

The study appears online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Tags

• AIDS / HIV

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Anonymous

did they not give the treatment to the wrong partner? A herpes sore would be a route to be infected by, so it would theoretically only increase the risk of infection if it was the HIV negative partner who had herpes.

January 22, 2010 - 8:25am

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