Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1998 Apr;42(4):868-72.
doi: 10.1128/AAC.42.4.868.

Survey of resistance of herpes simplex virus to acyclovir in northwest England

J Christophers  1 , J Clayton, J Craske, R Ward, P Collins, M Trowbridge, G Darby
Affiliations

Survey of resistance of herpes simplex virus to acyclovir in northwest England

J Christophers et al. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1998 Apr.

Abstract

Acyclovir (ACV) has been used for more than 15 years in the management of herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) disease. The present survey was undertaken to assess the level of ACV resistance in the population. More than 2,000 HSV isolates from both immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients in northwest England were collected over a 2-year period and tested for sensitivity to ACV. These studies suggested a prevalence of resistance of approximately 0.1 to 0.6% in immunocompetent individuals, with no apparent difference in prevalence between treated and untreated groups. In line with previous studies, the prevalence of resistance in treated immunocompromised individuals was approximately 6%.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIG. 1
FIG. 1
Characterization of resistant isolates of HSV. Resistant viruses were classified phenotypically by the illustrated protocol.
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
Sensitivity distribution of 2,012 HSV isolates tested by a primary assay for sensitivity to ACV. The ACV treatment history and immunologic status (N, normal; IC, immunocompromised) are also indicated.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Baker D A, editor. Acyclovir therapy for herpesvirus infections. New York, N.Y: Dekker Publications; 1990.
    1. Collins P, Darby G. Laboratory studies of herpes simplex virus strains resistant to acyclovir. Rev Med Virol. 1991;1:19–28.
    1. Collins P, Ellis N M. Sensitivity monitoring of clinical isolates of herpes simplex virus to acyclovir. J Med Virol Suppl. 1993;1:58–66. - PubMed
    1. Collins P, Larder B A, Oliver N M, Kemp S, Smith I W, Darby G. Characterisation of a DNA polymerase mutant of herpes simplex virus from a severely immunocompromised patient receiving acyclovir. J Gen Virol. 1989;70:375–382. - PubMed
    1. Collins, P., and N. M. Oliver. 1986. Sensitivity monitoring of herpes simplex virus isolates from patients receiving acyclovir. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 18(Suppl. B):103–112. - PubMed

Publication types