Concerns About GlaxoSmithKline's Genital Herpes Campaign for Blacks

Genital Herpes Campaign for Blacks

A campaingaiming to raise awareness of genital herpes among blacks has "dividedpublic health authorities and raised complicated questions about race,sex, disease and commerce," the Washington Post reports.

The campaign, called "Say Yes To Knowing" and sponsored by drug maker GlaxoSmithKline,began in Detroit last month and has been expanded to Atlanta andBaltimore -- cities with largely black populations. It encouragesindividuals to be tested for the disease and notes that nearly one intwo blacks has herpes. Information about herpes also has been printedin 100,000 brochures and is available on the Web site Herpes411.com. The National Medical Association and the American Social Health Association are partners in the campaign.

GSKmakes the herpes treatment valacyclovir, sold under the name Valtrex,which has been shown to reduce an infected person's risk oftransmitting genital herpes by half. While campaign material does notmention the medication, the Herpes411.com includes a link to theValtrex Web site.

A survey conducted in the early 1990s foundthat 48% of blacks had genital herpes, compared with 21% of whites. Afollow-up study found that prevalence of sexually transmittedinfections has declined to 17% nationwide, though the decline amongblacks was not significant, according to the Post.

Comments

Some health experts are concerned that the campaign could lead towidespread testing and large-scale treatment of people who do not haveherpes symptoms. Federal authorities, such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and health groups, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, do not recommend routine screening for genital herpes.

Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association,called for more research into whether widespread herpes testing andtreatment would be beneficial, adding, "While it is nice to educatepeople with a campaign like this, at the end of the day, it tells usmore about what we don't know than about what we do know."

The Baltimore Health Departmentdeclined to partner with GSK on the campaign "because of the lack ofevidence to support, as a public health strategy, screening for herpesin people without symptoms," Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein said,adding that "the racial targeting was not an issue that we needed toaddress to make a decision." The campaign has received the support ofthe Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion, according to the Post.Anita Moncrease, a physician and part-time consultant for the Detroithealth department, said, "I am concerned about the negativeconnotations because this is a sexually transmitted disease. But I amconcerned about the public health of the citizens of the city ofDetroit more."

Edward Hook, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alabama-Birminghamand chair of the board of the American Social Health Association, saidhe believes the campaign "will raise awareness across the country,"noting, "I don't think even many doctors know how common genital herpesis." However, he added, "My sense is that this is probably a high-riskcampaign for GSK."

GSK said the campaign is educational andexperimental. The company plans to conduct an informal survey beforeand after the campaign in each city to determine how or if it affectedawareness. GSK official Marc Meachem said, "The first step is to see ifwe are able to move the needle and increase awareness." Lynn Marks, GSKsenior vice president, said that the campaign is not calling forscreening specific populations, adding, "We need to reach outincreasingly to these populations, not decreasingly" (Brown, Washington Post, 7/24).

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