| Acyclovir | Placebo | |
| Number randomly assigned | n = 69 | n = 56 |
| Time as sex worker, months, median (IQR) | 44 (24–96) | 24 (13–60) |
| Age, mean (SD) | 31 (7) | 30 (7) |
| Married, n (%) | 19 (28) | 16 (29) |
| Education, primary only, n (%) | 56 (81) | 38 (68) |
| CD4 cell count, median (IQR) | 302 (172–453) | 350 (232–505) |
| HIV plasma viral load, copies/ml, median (IQR) | 56 450 (21 250–181 000) | 50 400 (3270–156 666) |
| HIV cervicovaginal viral load, copies/ml, median (IQR) | 1058 (166–4075) | 480 (160–3950) |
| HIV shedding (%) | 59 (86) | 43 (78) |
| HSV-2 shedding (%) | 20 (29) | 9 (16) |
None of the differences were statistically significant.
HSV-2, herpes simplex virus type 2; IQR, interquartile range.