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Q In heterosexual couples who are serologically discordant for herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection, does once daily valacyclovir reduce the sexual transmission of genital herpes?
Clinical impact ratings GP/FP/Primary care ★★★★★★☆ Infectious diseases ★★★★★☆☆
METHODS
Design:
randomised placebo controlled trial.
Allocation:
concealed.*
Blinding:
blinded {participants, healthcare providers, data collectors, data analysts, and outcome assessors}†.*
Follow up period:
8 months.
Setting:
96 sites in the US, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and Australia.
Participants:
1498 couples ⩾18 years who were immunocompetent, heterosexual, monogamous, in good health, and using effective contraception. One (source) partner had clinically symptomatic genital HSV-2 infection, presence of recurrent genital herpes with <10 episodes/year, and non-use of any daily antiviral therapy. The other (susceptible) partner had HSV-2 seronegativity on Western …
Footnotes
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↵† Information provided by author.
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For correspondence: Dr L Corey, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA. lcoreyu.washington.edu
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Sources of funding: GlaxoSmithKline Research and National Institutes of Health.