CDC & ACOG Highlights

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) have published recommendations for the treatment and counseling of patients with genital herpes.

The 2006 CDC Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines*† state:

  • "The majority of genital herpes infections are transmitted by persons unaware that they have the infection or who are asymptomatic when transmission occurs."1
  • "The risk of HSV-2 sexual transmission can be decreased by the daily use of valacyclovir by the infected person."*1

Level A recommendation from the November 2004 ACOG Practice Bulletin on gynecological care for HSV infections† states:

  • "For couples in which one partner has HSV-2 infection, suppressive antiviral therapy should be recommended for the partner with HSV-2 to reduce the rate of transmission."2
*In immunocompetent heterosexual adults. Safer sex practices should be used with daily therapy with VALTREX.
 (See current CDC STD Treatment Guidelines.)

†These are not complete summaries of the CDC Treatment Guidelines and the 2004 ACOG Practice Bulletin.
 Please see the current CDC Guidelines and the complete ACOG Bulletin for more detailed information.

Learn more about these recommendations.


Treatment Highlights
Read about the CDC and ACOG recommendations for treatment of patients with genital herpes.
Counseling Recommendations
Read about the CDC and ACOG recommendations for counseling of patients with genital herpes.

 

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2006. MMWR. 2006;55 (RR-11):1-92.
  2. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Gynecological Herpes Simplex Virus Infections. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 57.
    November 2004;104:1111-1117.
    3.