Tenofovir Vaginal Gel Cuts Herpes Risk Protection with pericoital gel increased with adherence

A gel containing an anti-HIV drug protected women against infection with herpes simplex-2 virus (HSV-2), a pathogen regarded as increasing the risk of HIV, researchers reported. In a substudy from a randomized trial, a tenofovir-containing gel used pericoitally cut the risk of HSV-2 by about half, according to Salim Abdool Karim, MBChB, PhD, of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, and colleagues. Advertisement The risk reduction was higher among women who used the gel frequently compared with those who used it less often, Abdool-Karim and colleagues reported in the Aug. 6 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/STDs/52952?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-08-06&eun=g721819d0r