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Prevalence of genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection continues to increase at an alarming rate, even at a time when "safe sex" measures to limit transmission are strongly and widely advocated. Antiviral suppression may decrease recurrences but is not curative, costs a lot, and may give rise to viral resistance. These authors prospectively studied recurrence rates, during a period ranging from 14 months to longer than 9 years, in patients presenting at a herpes research clinic with genital herpes caused by either HSV-1 or HSV-2. Serology and virus isolation were used to classify patients as having new or previous acquisition of HSV-1 or HSV-2, and recurrences were counted by clinic visit and self-diagnosis.
Patients with new HSV-1 infec…