New Scientist and the medical journal Vaccine have reported on a promising development that scientists have dreamed of for decades: a potential breakthrough in the creation of a herpes simplex vaccine.
Research scientists at Louisiana State University in the United States say that they have successfully used an early-stage vaccine to protect both monkeys and guinea pigs from the virus.
However, although the vaccine being developed is for the treatment of HSV-2, there is also realistic expectation that the vaccine could be adapted to treat HSV-1 – the virus responsible for cold sores. Furthermore, the scientists are optimistic that although the vaccine has yet to be tested on people, the results they have so far experienced with animals will be translatable to the human population.
And it is not only a development that will affect those who are looking for protection from the virus; it is thought that the vaccine will be able to protect those who have already been infected and have experienced outbreaks. As such, the potential impact of the vaccine is huge: one in six adults in the world is thought to suffer from at least one form of the cold sore virus.
The cold sore virus is spread by skin-to-skin contact and causes painful, uncomfortable and unsightly lesions. Some sufferers may have the virus but might go without an outbreak for months or years, until their immune systems are low or they experience the kind of stress that might precipitate an outbreak.
Worldwide, it is thought that around 3.7 billion have HSV-1, the cold sore virus. The UK's Herpes Virus Association says that seven in ten people in the UK will catch either virus during the course of their lives.
However, many people have mild symptoms or none at all, and two thirds of those carrying the virus do not know they have it, the Herpes Viruses Association says.
The proposed vaccine works by injecting a live but low potency version of the virus into patients. This prevents the ability of the virus to take hold of the nervous system, in effect giving the body the opportunity to "teach itself" how to successfully build up immunity and fight off the infection. As such, when the body comes into contact with the full potency version of the virus, it has achieved full immunity and is able to fight it off.
All the guinea pigs that received the vaccine were successfully able to fight off the "real" more aggressive version of herpes. In contrast, those that were not given the vaccine developed "severe" symptoms. All that did not receive the vaccine had 'severe' symptoms, according to the study published in the journal Vaccine. Furthermore, guinea pigs already suffering from cold sores also developed immunity.
Although the results achieved with monkeys were not quite so resoundingly successful, they were very impressive, with nearly all the primates achieving immunity from infection.
Dr Konstantin Kousoulas, one of the researchers from the Louisiana State University team, told New Scientist that his team planned to begin trials on humans within a year. He also said if successful, the vaccine could be available within five years. It has "tremendous potential as both a preventative and therapeutic vaccine," he said.
Previous attempts to create a vaccine have failed. However, the latest attempt is one of the first to use a live version of the virus.
In the meantime, the most that cold sore sufferers can hope for is to find an effective treatment that works for them.
