Sexually transmitted diseases
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
An international, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, study of valacyclovir for the suppression of herpes simplex virus type 2 genital herpes in newly diagnosed patients.
Antiviral suppressive therapy of genital herpes is often initiated based on the established pattern of recurrences in an individual. Because most persons with first episode herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection experience recurrences and because viral shedding occurs frequently in the first year after infection, we examined the strategy of initiating suppressive therapy shortly after diagnosis of genital HSV-2 infection. ⋯ Valacyclovir 1 g once daily administered for 24 weeks was well-tolerated and effective in suppressing genital herpes recurrences in immunocompetent newly diagnosed persons without an established recurrence pattern.