A vaccine for the herpes simplex virus type two – genital
herpes – could be as little as four years away, Professor
Lawrence Stanberry, a pediatrics and vaccine specialist at the
University of Texas, told a health conference yesterday.
Progress also was being made on developing a vaccine for
the human papillomavirus, which causes genital warts and can
be a precursor to cervical cancer.
Professor Adrian Mindel, a director of Westmead Hospital's
Sexually Transmitted Infections Research Centre in Sydney,
also said Australia had collaborated with the US to develop
the herpes vaccine and was the second largest patient
contributor in a recent international trial.
Professor Mindel estimated it would be a "bare
minimum" of four years before a herpes vaccine became
available here, saying significant improvements needed to be
made on the current candidate.
The latest trial of the vaccine, being developed by
GlaxoSmithKline, found it protected women against genital
herpes but had no effect on men.
A final study, involving 7500 women, begins in the US
shortly in a bid to come up with an improved second or third
generation vaccine.
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