USE YOUR VOICE FOR CHANGE
How long until a herpes cure?
When asking this question – ask yourself, what can I do to help? Want to know when the next clinical trial for a herpes cure is? Contact your elected representatives – tell them we need more clinical research for HSV.
Contact your elected representatives to ask them to prioritize Herpes cure, treatment and prevention. Especially important stakeholders in congress are on the committees below.
A sample letter/email is here.
| US Senate | US House of Representatives |
| Senate Appropriations Committee Senate LHHS Subcommittee Senate HELP Committee | House Appropriations Committee House LHHS Subcommittee |
United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPTSF)
Why advocacy at USPSF? USPSTF establishes guidelines for medical screening in the United States. They currently recommend against screening for HSV. Learn more about them here.
Contacts
| USPSTF Committee Chair | chair@uspstf.net |
| General Info | info@uspstf.net |
| Dr. Amanda Borsky Dissemination and Implementation Advisor Agency for Healthcare and Research Quality | Amanda.borsky@ahrq.hhs.gov |
CDC: Department for Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Why advocacy at CDC? Herpes spreads in America without public health intervention. The Center for Disease Control and prevention is responsible for prevention, surveillance, and establishes guidelines for testing and treatment for HSV in the United States. They currently recommend against screening for HSV. New STI treatment guidelines for HSV were published in 2021. Learn more about the CDC and their work here.
- Increase prevention efforts, outline a clear strategy to reduce transmission for HSV in the United States
- Increase training for new STI Treatment guidelines so that more people get tested (mild symptoms qualify someone for testing!)
- There is a critical public health need for a functional, accurate, diagnostic test to diagnose asymptomatic infection
CDC Contacts
| Dr. Jono Mermin Director of the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) | jhm7@cdc.gov |
| Dr. Leandro Mena, MD, MPH Director, Division of STD Prevention (DSTDP) | boe2@cdc.gov |
| Dr. Demetre Daskalakis | yzq5@cdc.gov |
| Raul Romaguera Acting Deputy Director (DSTDP) | rar2@cdc.gov |
| Dr. Laura Bachmann Chief Medical Officer, DSTDP | frg6@cdc.gov |
| Jennifer Ludovic Lead Public Health Policy Analyst , CDC | bmp8@cdc.gov |
| STI Treatment Guidelines Comments | stdtxguidelines@cdc.gov |
FDA Contacts and Committees
Why advocacy at FDA? The FDA reviews and approves new foods and medical products and provides regulatory oversight for businesses with products on market. The currently FDA-approved serologic antibody tests for diagnosing asymptomatic infection are wrong 50% of the time. Tell the FDA that we need higher standards for diagnostic tests! More background on the need for advocacy at the FDA is here.
More steps you can take on advocacy at the FDA!
Contacts
| Patient Affairs Mailbox | Patientaffairs@fda.hhs.gov |
| Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Committee | CBERAdvisoryCommittees@fda.hhs.gov |
| Dr. Himani Bisht Assistant Director, Division of Microbiology and Devices | Himani.Bisht@fda.hhs.gov |
NIH: National Institute for Health
Why advocacy at NIH? National Institutes of Health is responsible for research and development to bring new medical innovations to market in the United States. They fund both intra-curricular and extracurricular research through a robust grant program.
Contacts at NIH
| Dr. Emily Erbelding Director of the NIAID Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID) | emily.erbelding@nih.gov |
| Dr. Barbara Mulach Director, Office of Scientific Coordination and Program Operations, DMID | bmulach@niaid.nih.gov |
| Dr. Carolyn Deal STIs Section Chief | cdeal@niaid.nih.gov |
| Thomas Hiltke STIs Section Chief, STI Vaccines and Therapeutics Program Officer | thiltke@niaid.nih.gov |
| Dr. Jeffrey Cohen Chief, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases Chief, Medical Virology Section | jcohen@niaid.nih.gov |
Other stakeholders
| Lynn Barclay ASHA, Chief Executive Officer | lynnbarclay@ashasexualhealth.org |
| Fred Wyand ASHA, Communications | FreWya@ashasexualhealth.org |
| Asa Radix ASHA, Board President | aer2130@columbia.cumc.edu |
| Adolescents 2030 | info@adolescents2030.org |
| Beaumont Foundation | castrucci@debeaumont.org |
| Black Maternal Health Caucus (US Congress) | BlackMaternalHealthCaucus@mail.house.gov |
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