Herpes and AIDS in the Spotlight

“I FEEL like a leper. Who would want me if I told him that I have an incurable disease that can be sexually transmitted?” Thus spoke a sufferer of the much-publicized genital herpes. It is rampant in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. The United States alone reports that an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 individuals are afflicted with it each year. One doctor estimated that “20,000 to 50,000 new cases of genital herpes are diagnosed in Canada each year.”

The cause of all this misery? Medical science says it is a tiny particle, a virus, that is but one member of a large herpes “family.” Chicken pox and shingles are common afflictions caused by herpes viruses. The one causing genital herpes is similar (at times identical) to the virus causing the ordinary cold sores people get on their lips. But when herpes afflicts the genitals, the sufferer has usually (but not alwaysa) contracted the virus in a specific way: by sexual contact with another herpes victim.

Three to seven days after exposure to herpes, the infected one notices a burning or tingling sensation in the genital area​—the herald of painful, fluid-filled blisters. The sores work their torment for two to six weeks before healing. But herpes does not go away. Doctors say it merely beats a retreat, via nerve pathways, to nerve clusters at the base of the spine. There it lies dormant until something (such as stress) triggers a reactivation of the virus. Awakened, it travels the nerve pathways back to the skin and begins the misery cycle all over again.

Perhaps the most insidious effect of herpes is upon the sufferer’s emotions. Observes Dr. Oscar Gillespie: “The major problem with herpes isn’t so much in the virus itself, but in the ways its presence can create fears, doubts and disruptions in day-to-day living.” Said one victim: “It’s very difficult to describe the feelings of anger, guilt, and loss of control that you have when you have herpes. It’s something that I believe only a fellow herpes victim could share and understand.” Yet such emotional turmoil merely prolongs the cycle of suffering, often by triggering further recurrences of the disease.

Why Called Incurable

Why doesn’t the body’s immune system simply crush the irritating herpes virus? Doctors say that herpes escapes such a fate by attaching itself to a cell, penetrating its outer membrane and hiding therein. Safely inside, it swiftly commandeers control of the cell’s “brain,” turning the cell into a veritable herpes factory! From 80,000 to 120,000 new viruses are created within three to five hours. The cell wall then bursts open, allowing an army of dangerous particles to flow into the bloodstream and infect yet other cells.

You can thus see why doctors say that herpes is so tough to kill. A cure would somehow have to penetrate infected cells to kill the virus. Or it would have to kill infected cells without destroying healthy ones. Little wonder that medical science is thus far stumped. (See box.) Recent reports that herpes vaccines are being tested give some ray of hope perhaps.

[Diagrams on page 7]

(For fully formatted text, see publication.)

Step one: The herpes virus attaches itself to the cell and penetrates its outer membrane.

CELL WALL

CELL NUCLEUS

CELL DNA

HERPES VIRUS

VIRAL DNA

Step two: The virus takes over the cell’s nucleus to reproduce herpes viruses by the thousands.

CELL NUCLEUS DESTROYED

VIRAL NUCLEUS

NEW VIRUS

VIRAL DNA

Step three: The cell wall ruptures, releasing tens of thousands of viruses.

CELL WALL

[Box on page 8]

A Cure for Herpes?

Bogus cures for herpes, say doctors, have not only raised false hopes but in some cases simply made a bad condition worse. Among some of the treatments called ineffective by the CDC are vaccines, immune stimulants, vitamins C, E and B₁₂, special diets, zinc, lactobacillus (acidophilus) tablets, steroid creams and dye-light therapy.

But why do so many claim relief by means of these “cures”? Doctors remind us of what appears to trigger recurrences of herpes​—stress and anxiety. Just about anything that calms a person down and makes him less anxious might seemingly cure the malady​—temporarily. It is generally just a matter of time, however, before the latent herpes viruses, still nestled away in the cells, decide to attack again. Of course, controversy still surrounds some of these treatments, but a person is wise to investigate a treatment thoroughly before submitting to it.

For the time being, the best medical science has to offer is symptomatic relief. The drug acyclovir, for example, has been approved for use in the United States and appears to speed the healing of herpes sores. But, alas, it does not prevent recurrences!

Doctors give some common-sense advice for herpes sufferers that may also bring a measure of relief. Rest, warm baths, compresses, ice packs and keeping the sores dry are considered helpful, although far short of being cures.