The herpes medication acyclovir does not diminuish the risk of transmission of the HIV virus, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The conclusions were based on results from a 5-year, international clinical trial. Researchers had hoped that as preliminary studies had shown that acyclovir could decrease the amount of HIV in the blood and urinary tract, this could translate into a reduction of HIV transmission.
At the moment about 90% of people with HIV are thought to be also carrying the HSV-2 virus, which causes herpes. HIV is not only transmitted through blood and bodily fluids but through the ulcers that are associated with genital herpes. People with the Herpes virus are also thought to transmit the HIV virus more effectively.
The study, led by scientists from the University of Washington and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, involved 3,408 couples, one member of whom had HIV, one who did not. Across 14 countries in Africa, the results showed that there were 43 new infections amongst the group given acyclovir, and 41 amongst the group given the placebo.
The difference was ruled to be too small to be statistically significant, proving that the herpes anti-viral medication did not make a difference as to whether someone was more likely to contract HIV. The scientists also discovered that the Herpes virus attracts immune cells called CD4-T to the genital region, what can make it easier for an infection to establish itself or be passed on.