They don't "have to" take it and I didn't mean to ask whether they "had to."

All of us take many vacinations and don't "have to." My understanding is
that taking it renders the taker more resistant to contracting it, thus
resulting in the desire but not necessity of taking it. I am trying to
verify that. The person who told me this is an M.D.

B

Presumably an attempt at prophylaxis - it is the basis for malaria
therapy for instance.

Whether it would work or not is a different matter.

The virus life cycle is to infect and then become biologically active by
replicating itself - and its only at that point that the drug would
interact. Antibiotics tend to actively destroy or prevent growth of an
independant entity leaving it vulnerable to immune clearance. The
antiviral drugs for HSV are usually there to interrupt replication which
is a fair way down the cycle.

Of the licensed compounds its really only Abreva that goes faster by
interfering with viral attachment - but even assuming it worked (which Im
fairly sure hasnt been looked at and published widely) we are talking lots
of smearing and hideous cost!!!. There are some experimental dendrimers
that could do the same thing, and allthe microbicides that are being
tested as well. Its in the area of some kind of topical
microbicide/antiviral that we will see a protective formula of some kind.
In some respects the current condom microbicides do the job to an extent.

Back to the mainstream antivirals and whether they would be useable. Ive
not seen any human data on it, and the human data for antiviral use by the
infected partner being helpful is relatively new in terms of the timescale
of this sort of trial.

Ive seen mouse model work looking at early treatment just after infection
and the effects on latency do vary quite heavily with the drug involved -
and that might be reflected in the expectations of what prophylactic
antivirals might or might not do...

Tim
--
When playing rugby, its not the winning that counts, but the taking apart
ICQ: 5178568

Taking a herpes antiviral medication is not going to keep you from
contracting herpes.

Even on the Valtrex commercials they state that it is still possible to
spread herpes even with antiviral usage.

This is why I don't see the benefit of a non-infected partner taking
Valtrex.

Save the meds for people that actually have herpes.

I will see what I can dig up for you guys to actually read for yourselves.

Angela :)

http://yoshi2me.com

This is what I found on GO ASK ALICE of Columbia University:
http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/2492.html

Dear Alice,

I am a gay man, and my on-again, off-again boyfriend has genital herpes on
his anus. He currently takes Valtrex to manage his symptoms (his outbreaks
occur about once or twice a year). I love him and want to continue our
relationship, but I also want to protect myself. Would taking Valtrex (or
some other viral suppressing drug) reduce the chances of transmitting the
disease to me?

Dear Reader,

Valtrex (valcyclovir) is an anti-viral drug approved for treating initial
genital herpes, recurrent genital herpes, and chronic suppressive treatment
of recurrent genital herpes. In clearer terms, the drug is used to manage
symptoms in individuals with herpes. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) approved the use of Valtrex to prevent transmission of
herpes to an uninfected partner.

It's unclear if your question is whether you yourself should take Valtrex to
reduce the risk of transmission. Valtrex is approved for use only by
individuals with genital herpes. There is no indication that it has any
efficacy as a preventative medication, so the uninfected partner should not
take it.

Your partner's use of Valtrex can, most likely, reduce the risk of
transmitting herpes to you. There are, however, a few caveats. The FDA
approved Valtrex in August 2003 for reducing the risk of heterosexual
transmission from an individual with genital herpes to an uninfected partner
in combination with safer sex behaviors. This includes using a condom and
not having sex during an outbreak when both partners have healthy immune
systems. While Valtrex can be used by someone with genital herpes for the
management of symptoms, the studies that led to the approval of the drug for
transmission risk reduction were conducted only with monogamous,
immunocompetant, heterosexual couples. More studies would be necessary,
according to the majority of the approval committee, to determine the drug's
usefulness against cases of homosexual transmission or in individuals with
compromised immunity. You may want to encourage your boyfriend to talk with
his health care provider about Valtrex's benefits in reducing transmission
risk.

It's important to remember that Valtrex reduces, but does not eliminate, the
risk of transmission. An important part of risk reduction with herpes is
choosing when to have sex, what kind of sex to have, and using condoms.
Other suggestions to reduce the chances that your boyfriend will transmit
herpes are explored in some of the Related Q&As below.

Hope this helps,

Angela :)

http://yoshi2me.com

I found the following in: http://www.emedicine.com/MED/topic504.htm

High-dose valacyclovir, penciclovir, famciclovir, and acyclovir have been
used for CMV prophylaxis in patients who have received organ transplants.
The results have been mixed, depending on the transplant population.