![]() ![]() “The herpes virus is very different from the measles virus, for example,” said Schaffner. The structure and behavior of the herpes virus is what makes it difficult to develop a vaccine. William Schaffner, chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee, told Healthline. In addition, the virus can lay dormant in a person’s body for years before springing to life and making somebody sick.Īnd it has a lot of company among sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea that also don’t have vaccines. It’s also similar to cancer in the way it can go undetected by the body’s immune system. Why not herpes?Įxperts tell Healthline there are a number of reasons.įirst, the herpes virus is quite complicated. We have vaccines for measles, mumps, hepatitis B, and whooping cough. So, why can’t the pharmaceutical industry develop a herpes vaccine after decades of trying and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment? In fact, at least three companies that were overseeing clinical trials on a herpes vaccine last year have since abandoned their research.Īnd, at the moment, there’s no major clinical trial under way for a vaccine to prevent the sexually transmitted disease. However, no company has developed a commercially ready vaccine despite some concerted efforts. ![]() After all, the herpes simplex virus affects about two-thirds of the population worldwide under the age of 50. ![]()
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