- Herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the herpes simplex
viruses type 1 (HSV -1) and type 2 (HSV-2).
- Since the late 1970s,
the number of Americans with genital herpes infection has increased 30%.
The largest increase is currently occurring in young white teens.
- HSV-2 infection is now five times more common in 12- to 19-year-old whites, and
it is twice as common in young adults ages 20 to 29 than it was 20 years ago.
- Although the
infection can stay in the body indefinitely, the number of outbreaks tends
to go down over a period of years.
- Nationwide, 45
million people ages 12 and older, or one out of five of the total
adolescent and adult population, are infected with HSV-2.
HSV-1 and HSV-2 can be found
and released by someone who has a genital HSV-2 infection. HSV-1 causes
infections of the mouth and lips, so-called "fever blisters." A person can
get HSV-1 by coming into contact with the saliva of an infected person.
HSV-1 infection of the genitals almost always is caused by oral-genital
sexual contact with a person who has the oral HSV-1 infection.
Most individuals have no or
only minimal signs or symptoms from HSV-1 or HSV-2 infection. When signs do
occur, they typically appear as one or more blisters on or around the
genitals or rectum. The blisters break, leaving tender ulcers (sores) that
may take two to four weeks to heal the first time they occur. Typically,
another outbreak can appear weeks or months after the first, but it almost
always is less severe and shorter than the first episode.
Results of a recent, nationally representative study show that genital herpes
infection is common in the United States from the sores that the viruses cause, but
they also are released between episodes from skin that does not appear to be
broken or to have a sore. A person almost always gets HSV-2 infection during
sexual contact with sores.
HSV-2 infection is more common in women (approximately one out of four women)
than in men (almost one out of five). This may be due to male-to-female
transmission being more efficient than female-to-male transmission.
HSV-2 infection also is more common in blacks (45.9%) than in whites (17.6%).
Race and ethnicity in the United States correlate with other, more fundamental
determinants of health such as poverty, access to good quality health care,
behavior for seeking health care, illicit drug use, and living in communities
with a high prevalence of STDs.
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