First genital herpes vaccine ‘offers powerful protection against the STI’ – and could stop it spreading
A NEW vaccine could bring an end to the "global herpes pandemic", experts have revealed.
The jab - given three times over a six-month period - offers "powerful protection" against the sexually transmitted infection, they found.
And it could prevent the STI spreading through the population, research suggests.
Across the world around 500 million people are infected with the genital herpes virus - known as herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV2).
But, now a team of scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that a new drug attacks three different parts of the virus.
That includes two parts of the virus that normally helps HSV2 hide from the body's immune system.
Professor Harvey Friedman, who led the research, said: "It's a novel strategy, and it works beautifully.
"I know of no other HSV2 vaccine candidate with published results that are as promising as this study.";
The findings, published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, will likely result in human clinical trials of the vaccine.
The public health burden wrought by the herpes virus is enormous, experts say.
If found effective in clinical trials, the vaccine will have a huge impact on reducing the overall prevalence of genital herpes infections and could reduce new HIV infections as well
Dr Sita Awasthi
In the US, researchers estimate around one in six people aged 15 to 49 have HSV2 infection.
In the UK around 70 per cent of the population carry one of the herpes viruses.
And in 2013, NHS figures show 32,279 people attended a sexual health clinic in England with an attack of genital herpes for the first time.
Meanwhile, in some parts of Africa, more than half the adult population is thought to be infected.
The virus does not cause any symptoms in most people - but once a person has the infection they have it for life.
But it can cause painful blisters and sores around a person's genitals. It is also responsible for cold sores.
While the infection can be painful for adults, it can cause devastating and often lethal infections in infants born to infected mums.
And being infected with HSV2 greatly increases the chance of catching HIV.
Prof Friedman and his team designed a new vaccine to mobilise the immune system, weaponising the body to fight the infection.
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"In essence, we're stimulating the immune system to attack the virus and at the same time preventing the virus from using some of the tools it has to thwart that immune attack," he said.
When given three times over a six-month period, the vaccine was found to induce a "strong immune response" in macque monkeys, whose immune system closely resembles that of humans.
Prof Friedman's team found the drug stimulated immune responses in both the blood and vaginal fluid.
In a lab dish this response was found to neutralise the virus's ability to spread from cell to cell.
It’s a novel strategy, and it works beautifully. I know of no other HSV2 vaccine candidate with published results that are as promising as this study
Professor Harvey Friedman
And it also led to a sharp rise in the number of CD4 T-cells - a special immune cell whose job it is to fight viral infections.
The study's lead author, Dr Sita Awasthi, said: "We are pleased to have demonstrated such a potent and durable immune response to the vaccine.
"If found effective in clinical trials, the vaccine will have a huge impact on reducing the overall prevalence of genital herpes infections and could reduce new HIV infections as well."
"If the vaccine behaves like this in people, it would limit lesions to appearing only about one day in 100, and the virus would be potentially contagious only about two in every 1,000 days," Prof Friedman added.
His team are now in discussions with drugs companies to move to the next stage of development, clinical trials.
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