Chemotherapeutic efficacy of E-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'deoxyuridine for orofacial infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 in mice.

Systemic or topical treatment with E-5-(2-bromovinyl)2'-deoxyuridine (BVDU) showed significant efficacy against orofacial infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in hairless mice. The chemotherapeutic response to BVDU was dose-dependent and clearly evident even when the treatment was initiated during the clinical manifestation of HSV-1 infection at 72 hr after inoculation. Early initiation of therapy with BVDU at 3 or 24 hr after inoculation significantly prevented the establishment of latent HSV infection in the trigeminal ganglia of mice, but systemic treatment with BVDU did not influence already established latent HSV-1. The chemotherapeutic efficacy of BVDU was comparable to that of acyclovir in the present animal model.