Looking back on IHW 2004

Since International Herpes Week only came to an end a couple of weeks ago, it is perhaps too soon to formally assess its impact. However, early signs indicate that the campaign has once again proved to be a valuable catalyst for raising awareness about the herpes viruses and encouraging people to talk more openly about herpes, particularly genital herpes.

A number of activities have taken place around the world. The campaign kicked off at the Conference on Sexually Transmitted Infections organised by the International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI) in Myconos, Greece. A satellite symposium considered The Management of Genital Herpes in the Modern World - Addressing the Myths, click here for more details. In addition, a media roundtable on the topic The First Dialogue on STDs: Genital Herpes - Addressing the Stigma, was attended by journalists from Turkey, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Greece.

During the week, a live and interactive webcast about genital herpes was hosted on the Canadian website herpeshealth.com, offering visitors to the site an opportunity to put their questions to a panel of experts. In Australia, General Practice Working Party member Dr Darren Russell answered questions about genital herpes and related conditions on the Australian Herpes Management Forum website. Australia also saw a number of other activities in support of the week, including the distribution of posters to surgeries and a national T-shirt competition, in which fashion students from around the country were invited to submit designs inspired by an educational kit for genital herpes, the Facts Pack.

The New Zealand Herpes Foundation was also extremely active during IHW. A series of advertisements were placed in a leading women's interest magazine and a media campaign generated coverage in regional newspapers and radio stations.

A number of websites around the world supported the week by posting up information about IHW and including links to the IHA website. This helped to drive up the number of visitors to an unprecedented level of almost 51,000 in October (in the first six months of 2004, the monthly average was around 23,000). As a result, more people now have access to accurate and up-to-date information about living with herpes.

Further details of activities to support the week are still coming through. To help us keep track of events throughout the world, please send details of any activities or news coverage in your region to the IHA Secretariat at herpes@packerforbes.com.