Genital Herpes by unprotected sex while on suppressive therapy

Resolved question:

Hello doc, I heard that there are chances go getting affected with genital herpes, through unprotected sex with affected people. But if a person is in suppressive therapy, will it spread as usual? There are no outbreaks or signs of outbreaks in the carrier, in the given scene. What about taking acyclovir on a daily basis, to prevent a possible infection? I heard that acyclovir is used to treat worse situations of HPV attack. Please help.

Submitted: 4 Days
Category: Community

Expert:  Dr. Andrew Lewis replied 4 Days.

Thanks for your question. Acyclovir and valacyclovir are used to treat herpes and it is valacyclovir only, which is used to prevent transmission of virus between partners and not acyclovir. But there is still a possibility of getting infected when herpes virus in the particular person become resistant to acyclovir. In some people, there will be no visual signs of outbreaks which don’t mean that they are not infected. Even a single unprotected sexual intercourse can make a person infected. Anyway, in your case it is unlikely to get affected with herpes as there are no visual signs of it. There is just a 10-20% chance to get infected if the carrier has got infection. Hope my answer helps. Take care.

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