Washington (H24N). For the first time, scientists have developed a vaccine that helps prevent genital herpes, but it is effective only in women who have never had a cold sore.

The finding was announced Sunday at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Toronto.

The vaccine was tested on nearly 3,000 people who were in relationships with a partner who had genital herpes. During 19 months of follow up, it turned out that the vaccine did nothing to protect men or to protect women who already had oral herpes, HSV-1. However, it was about 73 percent effective in warding off genital herpes (HSV-2) sores in women who were infected with the virus but had never had symptoms, according to scientists at SmithKline Beecham in Belgium.

About 3 percent developed genital herpes after taking the vaccine, compared with about 11 percent of those receiving placebo shots. Another 3 percent of those receiving the vaccine became infected but never developed genital sores.

"We have a grip on the herpes virus for the first time, something that we can trace and use to further our understanding of the disease and how to vaccinate against it," said Spotswood Spruance, Ph.D., of the University of Utah, one of the lead investigators who tested the vaccine.

Herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). HSV-type 1 commonly causes fever blisters on the mouth or face (oral herpes), while HSV-type 2 typically affects the genital area (genital herpes), although either type can affect either area.

Most of the time, HSV-1 and HSV-2 are inactive, or "silent," and cause no symptoms, but some infected people have periodic outbreaks of blisters and ulcers. Once infected with HSV, people remain infected for life. In the United States, 45 million people aged 12 and older, or one out of five of the total adolescent and adult population, is infected with genital herpes.

The researchers note that there have been many attempts to produce a vaccine for herpes, but none have been successful. The study participants were from the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy and New Zealand.

Given the fact that such a high percentage of the population has already been infected with the cold sore-causing HSV-1, the researcher noted that the vaccine would most likely be effective if given to adolescent girls.

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