This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate had no effect on HSV shedding rates in adults co-infected with HIV-1
Tan D. AIDS. 2011;doi:10.1097/QAD.0b013e328341ddf7.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate did not result in herpes simplex virus shedding among asymptomatic patients co-infected with HIV, according to researchers from Canada.
“Although the CAPRISA 004 study found that tenofovir gel applied topically to the vagina resulted in a decreased incidence for HSV-2 infections — in addition to the landmark finding of a decreased incidence of HIV-1 infections — oral tenofovir as part of a combination [antiretroviral] therapy regimen was not associated with a decrease in mucocutaneous [herpes simplex virus] shedding in this cohort,” Darrell Tan, MD, FRCPC, of the University Health Network Division of Infectious Diseases, told Infectious Disease News.
For the observational study, Tan and colleagues assessed the effect of oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) as part of combination ART on asymptomatic herpes simplex virus (HSV) shedding in 40 HIV-1, HSV co-infected patients.
HSV infection was determined by type-specific serology. Oral, genital and anal swabs were obtained daily for 28 days in patients with an HIV viral load of less than 50 copies/mL taking ART. Polymerase chain reaction assay assessed refrigerated specimens weekly for HSV-1 and HSV-2.
Thirty of the 40 co-infected patients were seropositive for HSV-2; 32 patients were HSV-1 seropositive; and 22 were both HSV-1 and HSV-2 seropositive. According to the researchers, TDF was included in the ART regimen for 55% of overall patients and for 57% of patients with HSV-2.
Median shedding rate among patients with seropositive HSV-2 was only 7.1%; shedding rates did not differ between patients assigned TDF and those not assigned TDF (P=.36). Moreover, shedding rates were similar in patients assigned or not assigned to TDF for HSV-1 alone (P=0.59) or for HSV-1 or HSV-2 (P=0.38).
“At this stage, these preliminary results should not be used to change physician behavior,” Tan said. “Oral use of tenofovir should not be considered to have clinically relevant effects on the clinical manifestations of or transmission of herpes.” – by Ashley DeNyse
Disclosure: Dr. Tan has no relevant financial disclosures.
 |
Follow InfectiousDiseaseNews.com on Twitter. |