STD Quarterly: Web Watch: Use on-line resources for herpes information
Need fingertip information on herpes simplex (HSV) research or Internet educational resources to provide to patients? Take a look at the following sites, which cover a broad range of information on the subject.
• Herpes Resource Center. Web: www.ashastd.org/hrc. The Herpes Resource Center (HRC), a service of the Research Triangle Park, NC-based American Social Health Association (ASHA), focuses on increasing education, public awareness, and support to anyone concerned about herpes. Since its formation in 1979, the HRC has helped more than 1 million people. The site contains information in English and Spanish on ASHA’s National Herpes Hotline, herpes support groups, and the Herpes Chat Room, as well as details on how to order materials such as the quarterly newsletter, the helper. The link to "Herpes: Get The Facts" provides basic answers to commonly asked questions.
• International Herpes Alliance. Web: www.herpesalliance.org. The International Herpes Alliance was launched in December 1999 as a nonprofit organization offering support and information to those with genital herpes, as well as those helping to manage the condition, and national patient support groups around the world. It coordinates activities for International Herpes Week, which was observed Nov. 12-18 in 2001. A leaflet, fact sheet, and poster for International Herpes Week is available to download as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file; click on "International Herpes Week," then click again to download the desired items.
• International Herpes Management Forum. Web: www.ihmf.org. The International Herpes Management Forum (IHMF) was established in 1993 to improve the awareness and understanding of herpes viruses, and the counseling and management of people with these infections. Click on "Management Guidelines" for summaries of recommendations made in the IHMF Management Strategies in Herpes series of monographs, which provide an overview of key treatment issues. By clicking on "Herpes Journal," visitors can read the on-line version of Herpes, the journal of the IHMF. A review journal, Herpes, is published three times a year and provides clinicians with a regular update on key issues and recommendations on patient management of herpes virus infections and their sequelae.
• American Herpes Foundation. Web: www.herpes-foundation.org. The American Herpes Foundation (AHF) is a nonprofit organization committed to enhancing the management and prevention of herpes virus infections through research and education. Click on "AHF Monitor" to read issues of this publication, which provides clinicians with practical clinical information to assist in identifying and managing herpes patients, feature articles, and late-breaking news in herpes, upcoming AHF activities, unique or difficult-to-assess case histories, and summaries of international articles.
• Herpes Help. Web: www.herpeshelp.com. This commercial site, maintained by GlaxoSmith Kline of Research Triangle Park, NC, offers basic information on herpes simplex and other herpes viruses, as well as images of herpes sores. A handy glossary defines medical terms commonly uses in discussion of herpes. The site also offers prescribing information on the company’s drugs acyclovir (Zovirax) and valacyclovir (Valtrex).
• Cafe Herpe. Web: www.cafeherpe.com. Maintained by East Hanover, NJ-based Novartis Pharmaceuticals, this commercial site offers herpes information, as well as prescribing information on the company’s drug, famciclovir (Famvir). The "Treatment" link offers helpful suggestions on prevention and care that will help patients during herpes episodes; an example includes "Avoid putting petroleum jelly, alcohol, ether, antibiotic cream, or ointment, or cortisone cream or ointment on genital herpes sores because they can sting and will not help heal the lesions."
• Herpes Diagnosis Resource Center. Web: www.pockit.com. This commercial site offers general information about herpes, as well as the POCkit HSV2 Rapid Test from Diagnology of Research Triangle Park. The site includes a "Dear Health Care Provider" letter that patients can print out to explain the point-of-care testing to their provider.
• Focus Technologies. Web: www.focus answers.com. Obtain an overview of the HerpeSelect ELISA and Immunoblot test kits from Focus Technologies (formerly MRL Diagnostics) of Herndon, VA. Click on "Diagnostic Products" at the main page, then "HerpeSelect" to access information on the tests. The site also includes links to herpes-related material, as well as brief answers to frequently asked questions.
• University of Washington Virology Research Clinic. Web: http://depts.washington.edu/herpes.
Research journal articles and abstracts written by clinic investigators are available at this institution’s web site. The site also includes herpes-related links, as well as an overview of the disease.
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