The ideal strategy for combating the HSV epidemic is
prevention. Over the last two decades, numerous efforts have
been made to develop a vaccine against HSV. The major
strategies in the development of vaccines are genetically liveattenuated viral vaccines,16,17 recombinant subunit (glycoprotein) vaccines,18,19 and DNA plasmids expressing one or more
HSV proteins (genetic immunization).20–22 However, none of
these is currently utilized to prevent HSV infection because the
frequent recurrences observed in infected patients can be
regarded as a series of continuous immunizations with a live
vaccine. Moreover, the virus can utilize several immune escape
mechanisms to avoid the action of vaccines