Yes, I'm talking to you. About 70% of Americans ages 14 to 49 have herpes, that is either the HSV-1 or HSV-2 versions. These viruses used to be clearly demarcated as oral and genital herpes, but these days it's clear that both can cause both types of infections.\
If you catch chlamydia or gonorrhea, you can have it treated with antibiotics and it will go away. However, there is no cure for herpes. So once someone has it, she has it for life. Over an entire population, the cases just add up over time. This means that middle-aged adults have some shockingly high herpes rates. For example, 50 to 70 percent of single women aged 45 to 50 have herpes. (By the way, the chart above is for herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), aka genital herpes. The other type is "oral herpes," HSV-1, although both viruses can infect people in both, um, places.)
For the majority of people with herpes, the infection causes them no physical problems, and there's nothing they could do to cure themselves if they found out that they had it. So a positive diagnosis is of limited utility. The CDC's reasoning? ''It is not clear whether knowledge of a herpes diagnosis improves the health of people taking the tests and reduces spread of HSV in the population."
PEOPLE WITH HERPES BUT NO SYMPTOMS CAN STILL SPREAD THE VIRUS
But some public heath professionals disagree with these recommendations. It's important to note that people with herpes but no symptoms can still spread the virus to other people. And their risk of contracting HIV is two times as high as those who don't have herpes. (Herpes can help HIV sneak into the body even when there's no noticeable symptoms.)
If you catch chlamydia or gonorrhea, you can have it treated with antibiotics and it will go away. However, there is no cure for herpes. So once someone has it, she has it for life. Over an entire population, the cases just add up over time. This means that middle-aged adults have some shockingly high herpes rates. For example, 50 to 70 percent of single women aged 45 to 50 have herpes. (By the way, the chart above is for herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), aka genital herpes. The other type is "oral herpes," HSV-1, although both viruses can infect people in both, um, places.)
For the majority of people with herpes, the infection causes them no physical problems, and there's nothing they could do to cure themselves if they found out that they had it. So a positive diagnosis is of limited utility. The CDC's reasoning? ''It is not clear whether knowledge of a herpes diagnosis improves the health of people taking the tests and reduces spread of HSV in the population."
PEOPLE WITH HERPES BUT NO SYMPTOMS CAN STILL SPREAD THE VIRUS
But some public heath professionals disagree with these recommendations. It's important to note that people with herpes but no symptoms can still spread the virus to other people. And their risk of contracting HIV is two times as high as those who don't have herpes. (Herpes can help HIV sneak into the body even when there's no noticeable symptoms.)
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