FDA approves
one-day herpes treatment

The Food and Drug Administration last week approved one-day dosing of the herpes treatment Famvir to treat recurrent genital herpes and cold sores in people with healthy immune systems. Previously, treating genital herpes required five days of Famvir treatment at a lower dose. The drug was not previously approved to treat cold sores, which also are caused by a common herpes virus. Now treatment of genital herpes can be completed with two 1,000-milligram doses of Famvir taken during just one day immediately after the outbreak of herpes symptoms. Cold sores are treated with a single 1,500-milligram dose. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 45 million Americans over age 12 have genital herpes, which is an incurable sexually transmitted disease. (The Advocate)