(12 Sep 2001)

A short course of therapy that will enable effective treatment of recurrent genital herpes in just 3 days, using the antiviral drug valaciclovir (Valtrex(R)), has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).Now, people in the US with genital herpes previously treated with one 500 mg valaciclovir tablet for 5 days can take the same dosage for only 3 days for effective suppression of outbreaks, a press release from manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline reveals.

‘We know that many people with genital herpes and their healthcare providers will see value in a shorter treatment for recurrent episodes,’ said Lynn Marks, vice president of Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Area at GlaxoSmithKline. ‘For these people, this shorter course of therapy may make it simpler and less expensive to treat recurring outbreaks of genital herpes than with their previous five day course of therapy.’

Antiviral drugs are available as both episodic and suppressive therapy for genital herpes. Suppressive therapy involves taking medication on a daily basis to help suppress or prevent episodes. With episodic therapy, people take their medication at the first sign or symptom of a recurrence. This helps to relieve symptoms and shorten the duration of an outbreak, although episodic therapy has not been proven to significantly decrease the number of recurrences.

To find out more about antiviral drugs for the treatment of genital herpes, see our patient information leaflet, Treatment Options for Genital Herpes.