Frequent Reactivation of Herpes Simplex Virus Among HIV Patients Treated with HAART

The effect of HAART on control of herpes simplex virus (HSV) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1-infected subjects is not known.

Among 28 HAART-treated and 49 untreated subjects with HIV-1 and HSV-2 infections, mucosal HSV shedding (median, 18% and 29% of days positive for HSV DNA, respectively; P=.08) and HSV DNA level (median, 56,250 and 50,000 copies/mL, respectively; P=.20) were similar.

Treated subjects reported significantly fewer days with HSV lesions, compared with untreated subjects (2.8% vs. 11.3% of days, respectively; P=.001). Thus, mucosal HSV shedding and HSV-2 reactivation were still frequent among treated subjects, even though HAART was associated with fewer days with HSV lesions.

Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, and Program in Infectious Diseases, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington.

08/06/04