Over the years, researchers have tried finding a proper phrophialictic and curative agent that we can use against HSV529. And it seems that 2019 is the year that they have finally reached their goal. Although it is only phase 1 and their vaccine sure needs a lot of additional work to be done, the Herpes Vaccine HSV529 vaccine has delivered some promising results.
Herpes Vaccine HSV529 shows promising results in phase trial 1
There are two types of the Herpes simplex virus – Herpes Simplex 1 (HSV-1) and Herpes Simplex 2 (HSV-2). While HSV-1 is transmitted by oral to oral contact, the HSV-2 is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse, causing genital herpes. Having multiple sexual partners, struggling with another STD, and being female are the three major risk factors for developing an HSV-2 infection.
Looking into the data on an international level, approximately 11.9% of the nation aged 14 to 49 have HSV-2 infection. In Africa alone, the rates of genital herpes are considered to be especially high, affecting from 80 to 90% of the African nation.
Unfortunately, there is still no cure made available for the Herpes simplex virus. That leaves us with some effective treatment options that can help with the difficult symptoms caused by this virus and what it seems to be the most important issue now – prevention.
But that does not mean that researchers are not making a further effort to find a cure that we can rely on. That is how they got to test out the new Herpes vaccine HSV529, which amazingly showed many promising results! What makes the HSV529 vaccine different from the ones investigated before, was the fact that instead of inducing neutralizing antibodies like the ones before, the HSV529 vaccine is a replication-defensive HSV2 vaccine that is able to infect cells and with that, result in a broader immune response.
The research was published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases in September 2019. This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that was meant to investigate the effects of the HSV529 in adults aged 18 to 40 years. A total of 60 participants were divided into three groups that received either the vaccine or placebo at 0, 1, and 6 months. For the purposes of the research, the vaccine was administrated as a 0.5 ml solution containing 1×10(7) plaque-forming units on day 0, day 30, and day 180.
The results showed that HSV529 was safe and effective at eliciting neutralizing antibody, serving as a potential prophylactic or a therapeutic vaccine. Future modifications have to be done in order to improve its immunogenicity further, but this is a promising step forward to eventually find an effective cure that we can one day use.
Conclusion
Research done investigating the effects of the new HSV529 vaccine has shown promising results in preventing and potentially curing HSV2 in the future. Although there is a need for further investigation and modification to be done, the new HSV529 vaccine has delivered some promising results as never before. With the HSV529 vaccine, we are looking at millions of lives being saved and future HSV cases being prevented.
References
https://www.cdc.gov/std/herpes/stdfact-herpes-detailed.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110415083142.htm
https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/220/6/990/5486075
https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/sanofi-hsv529-vaccine-candidate-derived-hsv2-strain-186