Recurrent outbreaks of herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV2) or “genital herpes” can be treated effectively with a one-day therapy with valacyclovir (Valtrex), according to results of a pilot study published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

To Dr. Stephen K. Tyring, Center for Health Sciences at the University of Texas in Houston, brought together 115 patients with recurrent HSV2 infection.

Patients received therapy one-day valacyclovir 4,000 milligrams (mg) in two doses of 2,000 mg, at the earliest signs of recurrence.

Participants performed monitoring the duration of their symptoms in diaries and collected genital swabs for viral cultures that were made 14 days after initiation of therapy.

Tyring’s team reports that 90 patients (78 percent) had a recurrence or signs of onset of symptoms and four patients (5 percent) developed a second recurrence after 14 days of treatment with valacyclovir.

The median duration of genital pain and inflammation was five and three days, respectively.

“Treatment of a day appears to be as effective as three to five days” said Tyring Reuters Health in an interview.

The team concluded that the regimen of valacyclovir day “be a convenient treatment for recurrent genital herpes.

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