Herpes Is Slowly Retreating, but the Infection Remains Common

The prevalence of both genital and oral herpes simplex virus infections has declined steadily since 2000. Still, roughly half of middle-aged Americans are infected.

HSV-1, or oral herpes, causes cold sores around the mouth and face, and sometimes genital sores. HSV-2, genital herpes, is sexually transmitted and causes sores around the genitals, buttocks and anus. HSV-2 can sometimes cause mouth sores as well.

Both types of herpes are transmitted by direct contact with an infected person; some infected people have no symptoms.

Oral herpes is usually acquired early in childhood or adolescence from nonsexual contact with saliva. It can be spread to the genitals through oral sex. Genital herpes is spread by vaginal, anal or oral sex with an infected person.

Even when there are no symptoms, the herpes virus continues to live in the body and can be reactivated to cause outbreaks. There is no cure for herpes, but antiviral medicines can help to reduce the severity and duration of outbreaks of both oral and genital herpes.

According to a report published recently by the National Center for Health Statistics, 48 percent of Americans ages 14 to 49 are infected with HSV-1, down from 59 percent in 2000.

About half of women in this age group are infected; 45 percent of men are infected. The older a person is, the more likely he or she is to be infected.

Almost 60 percent of people ages 40 to 49 are infected with HSV-1. Rates are higher among Mexican-Americans, blacks and Asian-Americans than among non-Hispanic whites.

HSV-2, the sexually transmitted form, infects 12 percent of Americans aged 14 to 49, down from 18 percent in 2000. The prevalence is 16 percent in women and 8 percent in men.

According to the lead author, Geraldine McQuillan, senior infectious disease epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been no studies firmly establishing why women are infected with HSV-2 at almost twice the rate of men.

But scientists share a general belief that anatomical differences account for the higher rate in women.

About 1 in 5 Americans ages 40 to 49 are infected with HSV-2. The rates are lowest among Asian-Americans and highest among blacks.

Rates are falling because people are using latex condoms, informing sex partners about diagnoses and abstaining from sexual activity when lesions are present, McQuillan said.

“There’s a real decline in new infections, and we’re seeing a decline in prevalence of two of the most common human viruses,” she said,