Resistance to Antiviral Drugs of Herpes Simplex Virus Isolated from a Patient Treated with Acyclovir

Abstract

SEVERAL drugs that inhibit the replication of herpesvirus in vitro are now being evaluated for the prevention or treatment of infections with herpes simplex virus and varicella zoster virus.^{1 2 3} Two of these drugs, acyclovir or 9-[(2-hydroxyethoxy)-methyl]guanine and the thymidine analogue E-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2′deoxyuridine (BVDU), are the most efficient inhibitors of herpes simplex virus Type 1 plaque formation yet described.^{4 5 6} To inhibit the growth of herpes simplex virus and presumably that of varicella zoster virus, acyclovir and BVDU must first be phosphorylated to the respective monophosphates by virus-specified thymidine kinase and must then be converted by cellular enzymes to the respective triphosphates, . . .