Oral antiviral drugs in experimental herpes simplex keratitis

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Virology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Herpetic ocular disease is a significant cause of vision loss.
• Recurrences of ocular herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are common.
• Antiviral therapies are used to manage HSV infections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of chronic oral acyclovir and bromovinyl deoxyuridine in preventing recurrent ocular herpetic disease in rabbits.
• To determine if these antivirals could alter the clinical course of recurrent disease or prevent virus shedding.

Main Methods:

• Rabbits with a history of ocular herpetic disease were chronically administered oral acyclovir or bromovinyl deoxyuridine.
• Virus shedding in tears and clinical signs of corneal disease were monitored.
• The emergence of resistant viral strains was assessed.

Main Results:

• Chronic oral administration of acyclovir or bromovinyl deoxyuridine did not prevent recurrent virus shedding.
• Neither drug altered the clinical course of recurrent ocular herpetic disease.
• No resistant viral strains were detected in the tears of treated rabbits.

Conclusions:

• Chronic oral acyclovir and bromovinyl deoxyuridine are ineffective in preventing recurrences of ocular herpetic disease or virus shedding in a rabbit model.
• These findings suggest limitations in using these oral antivirals for long-term prophylaxis of ocular HSV recurrence.