Herpes Drug Said to Speed Chicken Pox Recovery

A widely available herpes medicine is the first treatment that can shorten the misery of chicken pox, a viral rite of passage suffered by about 4 million U.S. children annually, a study published today said.

Virtually everyone gets chicken pox before adulthood, and until now there has been no effective treatment.

In the latest research, doctors showed that the prescription drug acyclovir can reduce the number of chicken pox sores, relieve itching and generally get youngsters feeling healthy more quickly. The treatment caused no side effects, the researchers said.

Although other medicines are sometimes given to relieve the symptoms of chicken pox, acyclovir is the first to actually make the disease go away more quickly.

“We would not say that every child needs to be treated with this drug for this infection,” said Dr. Ann M. Arvin of Stanford University, one of the researchers. “But it is clear that the drug does benefit children.”

The biggest drawbacks to treatment could be time and money. The medicine is worthless unless given to youngsters within 24 hours of when they break out with chicken pox. Treatment costs $32, and the expense at least doubles if parents must also pay for a doctor’s visit to get the prescription.

The study was directed at St. Louis University by Dr. Lisa M. Dunkle, now a researcher at Bristol-Myers Squibb, a drug company. It was published in today’s New England Journal of Medicine.

The research was financed by Burroughs Wellcome, which makes acyclovir. Earlier this month an advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended that the drug be formally approved for use in children with chicken pox.