Originally formulated to tackle HIV-AIDS in Africa, the microbicide gel is found to have another surprising benefit in curbing herpes flares, reports the New York Times.

Referring to a global study conducted by experts from the United States Department of Health and Human Services and also from several Belgian and Italian universities, the American daily notes that the gel can lessen the number of genital herpes outbreaks in sexually active women, hoping that discovery should be a blessing for the young female population.

It is not everyday that you find a treatment that can be administered to both herpes and HIV patients, suggests Dr Jeanne Marrazzo of the University of Washington, reiterating that the finding can be of great help to sexually active women.

According to the New York Times, genital herpes affects more than one-fifth of the adult US population, making it more common than AIDS. Figures published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrate that the sexually transmitted disease is prevalent among both the white and the black population, notes the US daily newspaper.

Prescription-based genital herpes medicines Valtrex and Famvir are known to reduce the number of flares, particularly when taken with safe sex measures. Now with another form of herpes treatment on the horizon, women might hope to steer clear of other sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis, observes the US broadsheet.

Given the large number of UK women who suffer from herpes, one might expect that the new genital herpes treatment would make lives easier for many women living on the other side of the Atlantic as well.