herpes symptoms : Herpes vaccine prevents symptoms ( 2 )

In the first trial, more naive male and female partners in the placebo group developed symptoms of genital herpes, but the overall efficacy in preventing symptomatic genital herpes was only 25%-38%.

There was a striking difference in the vaccine's efficacy between the genders. In male naive partners, the vaccine had no efficacy, compared with placebo. In female naive partners, the vaccine had a 73% efficacy rate in preventing genital herpes symptoms, a statistically significant finding relative to placebo.

Women's local cervical and vaginal immunity may account for the differences in efficacy between genders, Dr. Yeung-Yue speculated. The mucosal surface is bathed in antibodies that may be protective.

But serostatus of the naive partner is clearly important as well.

In the second study, in which the HSV-1 and HSV-2 serotypes were mixed, the difference between the sexes was less pronounced overall.

There was no observed protection in men or women who were HSV-1 seropositive and HSV-2 seronegative at baseline, lending support to the theory that prior infection with HSV-1 provides protection against the acquisition of genital HSV-2 disease. In this group, even the participants in the placebo group acquired the disease much less frequently than vaccinated women who were double seronegative.

by Kathryn DeMott