There is no cure for the common cold either. I have no idea why that.
I don't know much about cold viruses though.

Genital Herp is a tuffy mainly because it resides in a bundle of nerve
cells. And nerve cells are off limits to antibodies and other blood
borne tools of the immune system. Nonetheless, seems simple enough to
destroy the nerve cells and therefore cure the disease. Unfortunately,
the nerves in question supply the boxer shorts area with sensation
(hot, cold, touch, like that), so if you destroy them, you end up sort
of ... well ... dead down there.
Sooo ... it ain't as simple as one would hope.  .... sorry ...
But, they're working on it. Hopefully, they'll have something soon.
MIght not be a cure, but something that'll do as well until a cure
comes along.

M2

There is no cure for ANYvirus yet.  They can develop vaccines to innoculate
you from them but, to date, viruses remain a mystery.   I think if they
could crack the code on one they could crack the code on all of them.  Part
of the problem is that anything strong enough to kill an active virus would
likely harm the host (you) as well.

Gzmo

--
Gzmo

That question is becoming one of the more frequently asked questions
around here and so probably deserves a prominent spot in the FAQ, eh?
Gee, i wonder who we could get to write it up?

Yet, I'm always perplexed when the question is asked, though I must
commend Kristina on not blaming a non-cure on the big drug companies
like several of the posters asking the question have gone on to do.

Others have responded about the complexity of the herpes virus and the
fact that it can hide in the ganglia where it is out of reach of the
body's natural defenses.  In fact, when the virus comes out of its
hidey holes the body reacts swiftly to quell the invader, though often
not in time to prevent that damage to the epidermal layer which we
call an outbreak.

The point I want to make though, about viruses in general, which
relates to how hard they are to destroy, or "cure", is that the little
buggers have spent millions of years evolving *with* us, their hosts.
Essentially, they are made of the same stuff that we are, just in
smaller and different configurations.  If we send some substance in to
kill them, we end up damaging other important parts of ourselves, too.
The usual method that we've developed to fight against the worst
scourges (polio, smallpox, etc.) is to develop a vaccine that is very
similar to the relative virus, which, while not causing the disease,
prods the body itself to develop the weapons that will ward off the
real invader when and if it comes along.  Scientists can not yet
design and manufacture any virus fighting agent from scratch, though
Acyclovir comes close.  All they can do is cajole the body into coming
up with something on its own, and, in the case of herpes, the virus
has found a niche where it can hide from the bodies regular defenses.

Certainly, though, cures for all diseases are waiting in the future.
As far as I know there is no reason to suppose that there are other
than very plainly determinate causes for any disease, and that being,
solutions in every case will eventually be determined.  It bears in
mind to remember that "viruses" have only been known for about a
century, and that the vast bulk of what we know about them now has
been learned in the last twenty years.  I would expect that another
twenty years will expand our knowledge again exponentially, and that
real progress will have been made on a number of fronts.  If in twenty
five years there is still no cure for herpes you might even see me
writing here, "Why is there no cure???".

Take care,

Mike