Wayne State Researchers to Study Virus that Causes Cold Sores
Team hopes to learn enough about HSV1 to develop better treatments.
Oral herpes affects more than 70 million adults around the world.
The clinical term is herpes simplex virus 1, and while there are treatments to relieve symptoms, there’s no cure.
Wayne State University researchers hope to stamp out the disease with the help of a $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Doctor Haidong Gu will lead a five-year study of the virus, which is most commonly associated with cold sores. Dr. Gu tells WDET’s Pat Batcheller the oral herpes virus is similar to the one that causes genital herpes. You can learn more about the differences and similarities of HSV at the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Dr. Haidong Gu
