Treatment and prevention of herpes genital infection

The recent introduction of acyclovir for the treatment of genital herpes offers new hope for sufferers of this troublesome and recurrent condition. The results of the published trials with acyclovir in both primary and recurrent genital herpes are reviewed. The results show that acyclovir is a useful drug for the treatment of primary infections, but has a limited role in treating recurrences. Preliminary results with prophylactic oral acyclovir suggest that this form of therapy may be useful in patients with frequent severe recurrences.