Scientists may soon have a herpes vaccine

Genital herpes is a common sexually transmitted disease (STD) and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the majority of people who have this infection are unaware because there are often no symptoms. Even when a person is not exhibiting the signs of the disease, however, they are still capable of transmitting it to their partner.

Currently, although there are medications that can help people who are experiencing a herpes outbreak, there is no cure for the disease. Recently, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine discussed a vaccine that can effectively prevent women from contracting one strain the condition, the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1).

"There is some very good news in our findings. We were partially successful against half of the equation - protecting women from genital disease caused by HSV-1," said researcher Robert Belshe, M.D. "It's a big step along the path to creating an effective vaccine that protects against genital disease caused by herpes infection."

Once the herpes virus is in a person's system, it stays there forever. Having the disease can increase and individual's chance of contracting HIV and can also cause severe complications in babies who are born to women with the virus

The vaccine was not found to be effective against HSV-2, another strain of the virus. While researchers had previously believed that this was the form of the disease that causes sores on the genitals, they were surprised to find that HSV-1 often manifests itself on the genitals as well.

Scientists plan to continue to work on the vaccine in the hope that it will be able to protect against both HSV-1 and HSV-2. The CDC estimates that one out of every six Americans between the ages of 14 and 49 have this infection.