Mar 9 - U.S. herpes rates remain high: CDC

Tue Mar 9, 3:46 PM


By JoAnne Allen

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 16 percent of Americans between the ages of 14 and 49 are infected with genital herpes, making it one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday.


Black women had the highest rate of infection at 48 percent and women were nearly twice likely as men to be infected, according to an analysis by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


About 21 percent of women were infected with genital herpes, compared to only 11.5 percent of men, while 39 percent of blacks were infected compared to about 12 percent for whites, the CDC said.


There is no cure for genital herpes, or herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), which can cause recurrent and painful genital sores and also increases the likelihood of acquiring and transmitting the AIDS virus. It is related to herpes simplex virus 1, or oral herpes, which causes cold sores.


Several drugs are available to treat herpes symptoms and outbreaks, including acyclovir, which is available generically or under the Zovirax brand name, and valacyclovir, known generically as Valtrex -- both made by GlaxoSmithKline PLC. Ganciclovir, sold as Zirgan, is made by privately-held Sirion Therapeutics, Inc.


The CDC estimates that more than 80 percent of people with genital herpes do not know they are infected.


"The message is herpes is quite common. The symptoms can be often very innocuous," Dr. John Douglas of the CDC said in a teleconference.


"Because herpes is so prevalent it becomes ... a really important reason to use condoms on a consistent and correct basis with all of your partners," Douglas said.


Douglas said the increased rate of infection in blacks is not do to increased risk behavior but likely due to biological factors that make women more susceptible as well as the higher rate of infection within black communities.


The CDC estimates that there are 19 million new sexually transmitted disease infections every year in the United States, costing the health care system about $16 billion annually.




U.S. herpes rates remain high: CDC - Yahoo! Canada News

just got tested...clean as a whistle

"About 16 percent of Americans between the ages of 14 and 49 are infected with genital herpes, making it one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday.


Black women had the highest rate of infection at 48 percent and women were nearly twice likely as men to be infected, according to an analysis by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."


that's like 1/6 people and half of all black women..... WOOOOOOOOW

this is scary as f**k. at least my b**ch is mixed

damn. this is why i preach the condoms. Dont tell me u cant feel s**t, ur d*ck must be small, stop buyin them magnums

nigga HALF of all black women?!

I think they meant 48% of infections are black women. Not 48% of black women are infected.

That's not the way it's worded.

u gonna be the type to catch hiv from a white woman.....i can tell from ur demeanor

48% is a b.s. stat

nah u not tripping dog i havent f**ked a black b**ch since 01', i dont try to bag black chicks and the irony in that is im black lol.

are u not black, were u not birthed by a black woman and/or the seed of a black man.....i feel u when u talk about sorry ass black folks but black women beneath u and u using tar to refer to any black woman, slut or not, like u not "tar" man is pure ignorance cause whether u fukk with black women or not still doesnt negate the fact u a black ass man...must u bash everything related to blacks?? stop it

real f**kin talk.... they jus sayin that s**t....
the only ppl they proly tested was blacks.... i dont be believin that bs they talkin....

Just because you don't want to believe it doesn't mean it isn't true.

i take care of sick folks everyday and these stats dont reflect what i actually see

Your view is much more limited than a scientific analysis.

really??? cause the scientific analysis is only as good as the subjects in the study

funny how u tryna argue this shyt like stats are never biased or flawed, imma let u be right cause u talking shyt as compared to what i see is not worth me wasting my time on ignorance, have fun

travel nursing takes you around the country and those stats still dont match what i see, yeah u right my backyard covers the country and the study some bs.....carry on tho