Herpes Statistics

Posted on January 28, 2012 by MonikaGold

Herpes simplex type 1 and 2 are viral infections. HSV-1 is commonly called oral herpes and HSV-2 is referred to as genital herpes. Neither of these diseases have a cure, but only treatment options.

The statistics and facts are broken out between the two types of herpes.

What is Oral Herpes?

Oral herpes is indicated by the appearance of cold sores or fever blisters around the mouth. There is a type of HSV-1 that is called oral-facial herpes where the blisters and cold sores are located on the chin, cheek, or on and in the nose.

This viral infection can be easily passed to another person with a casual kiss when an infected person has a sore, and even when there are no visible signs of the disease. Besides the visible symptoms, a person with HSV-1 can have headaches, muscle aches, swollen glands in the throat, and other flu-like symptoms. Many people with this disease don’t know they have it. The sores can be mistaken for pimples, razor burn, an ingrown hair, or even a small cut at the side of the mouth.

If a person who is infected with oral herpes engages in oral sex, then the partner can get oral herpes on their genitals.

Oral Herpes Statistics

Depending on the study or estimates it is believed that between 50 and 80 percent of the United States adult population has oral herpes. Projections estimate that a full 90 percent of those living in the US will contract oral herpes before they turn fifty years of age. Unfortunately this disease isn’t limited to adults as many will contract this disease during childhood. It is possible to contract oral herpes by a quick, casual kiss from an infected relative or other individual.

Only fifty percent of those who get oral herpes will have a recurring outbreak.

What is Genital Herpes?

Genital herpes is a highly contagious viral infection. It is important to note that a many of those infected with this disease don’t know they have genital herpes. The physical symptoms of HSV-2 can include blisters and sores on the genitals, buttocks, or anal area of the body. HSV-2 will cycle through resting periods and active outbreaks. Other symptoms associated with genital herpes include headaches, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes in the groin, fever, and burning or pain on urination.

Genital Herpes Statistics

To begin with it is estimated that between 30 and 45 million people in the United States have genital herpes. This means that one of five American adults and adolescents have the disease. HSV-2 is more common in women as it is easier for the male to pass on the disease to his partner than it is for the female to give the disease to a man.

The statistics for genital herpes in women are one of four, for men it is about one in five.

Other statistics for genital herpes include:

The statistical evidence reflects that as many as 80 to 90 percent of those who have genital herpes have never had their condition diagnosed. Some of these people may realize they have the disease, while a great many don’t know they do.
Throughout the world blacks make up 45.9% of the total genital herpes cases and whites make up 17.6% of the total genital herpes cases. While the instance of genital herpes in the United States is about 20% of the population, in Africa it is as much as 80% of the population.
The segment of the population with the most dramatic increase in genital herpes is young white teens. Twelve to nineteen-year-old whites are five times more likely to have genital herpes today than they were twenty years ago. Young white adults from twenty to twenty-nine have doubled their instances of genital herpes over twenty years ago.
Each year there are about one million new cases of herpes throughout the world, in the United States there are about 500,000 new cases each year.
From twenty percent to twenty-five percent of pregnant women have genital herpes.
About eighty percent of those having their first episode of genital herpes will have at least one recurring outbreak. For those infected with genital herpes that have recurring outbreaks, the average number of yearly outbreaks is four or five.
Clinical trials done on an antiviral therapy called Valaciclovir have shown this drug to prevent or delay as much as 85% of genital herpes outbreaks.
The cervix in women is typically infected from eighty to ninety percent of the time in an initial genital herpes infection. These infections are often accompanied with vaginal discharge.
Somewhere in the world another person gets genital herpes every thirty seconds.
The number of genital herpes cases has increased thirty percent in the last decade.

For more information on herpes from the CDC or Center for Disease Control and Prevention, see here.

Herpes Research

Posted on January 18, 2012 by MonikaGold

Neither genital nor oral herpes have a cure. They are treatable and there is research being done to provide more treatment options for herpes, and to find a cure for these two types of viral infections.

Herpes infections are hard to treat and do research on for a cure, because the virus hides in nerve cells and lies dormant for non-specific periods of time. When the viral infection is latent it is effectively invisible to not only the immune system, but to the drugs trying to eradicate the disease. During outbreaks a part of the infection will become active, causing a flare up. But again part of the virus stays hidden in the nerve cells making it impossible for any treatment to fully cure the disease.

Duke University Research on Herpes

Current research on herpes includes a discovery by researchers at Duke University of a piece of the viral genome that codes the proteins enabling HSV-1 or the oral herpes virus, hide through dormant periods. This might enable scientists to create a drug to switch off the latent breaks so that the virus is forced out of hiding and can be eradicated by an antiviral treatment or some other drug.

While this type of treatment might create a severe flare up in order bring the virus out of hiding, finding an opportunity to completely rid the body of herpes and eradicate the disease would be a positive step. While steps have been taken, it can take years for a cure to be developed and approved for humans. But this research step for a cure for herpes gives sufferers hope that someday they may have curative options along with the suppressive therapy.

Harvard University Research on Herpes

In studies done on mice, research scientists at Harvard have found a new way to protect them against HSV-2 or the genital herpes virus. Herpes simplex virus 2 can be a co-factor for AIDS transmission. It is believed that if scientists can find a way to protect against genital herpes they could also help guard humans from getting AIDS. Again the research is a first step and it may be years before we see something that is approved for human treatment or inoculation against genital herpes or AIDS.

These studies utilize siRNA and RNAi. The terms siRNA means small interfering RNA. RNA is ribonucleic acid, which is similar to DNA. RNA has many duties within the cell including transcribing information found in the DNA. The siRNA compounds have the ability to suppress the activity of some disease-causing genes. This ability has been labeled RNAi, which stands for RNA interference. This siRNA is what has been found to protect the mice from herpes simplex type 2.

It is believed that siRNA could be given to someone who doesn’t have genital herpes to protect them from the disease, and to those who have genital herpes to reduce the pain, the amount of viral shedding, and the risk of giving genital herpes to a partner.

RNAi-based drugs are seriously being considered and tested for HSV-2 infections, and for their ability to protect against other diseases like AIDS, flu, hepatitis, malaria and more.

Statistics show that while about twenty percent of the United States adult population has been infected with HSV-2, the numbers in Africa reflect that about eighty percent of its population has been infected. If you have HSV-2 or genital herpes this means that you have three times the risk of being infected with HIV, or AIDS, than someone who doesn’t have genital herpes.

This is because HSV-2 erodes and inflames layers of skin both in and around the genitals. These skin layers provide a barrier to the AIDS virus. When genital herpes weakens this natural barrier, it is easier to transmit the virus that causes AIDS. So finding something that keeps humans from getting genital herpes could ultimately decrease AIDS transmission.

Other Herpes Research

There are many other research studies and clinical trials being done on finding both a cure for herpes and to find better treatments for the disease.

There are several studies being done on the effects of resveratrol on herpes. So far this research has determined that the natural substance known as resveratrol can inhibit replication of the herpes simplex virus. Resveratrol cream has also been found to inhibit or reduce HSV replication in the vagina of mice, and that it limits extravaginal disease.

For more information on the study of resveratrol and herpes, see here.

Summary

Herpes research is ongoing and is being done in the leading institutions both in the United States and in other areas of the world. There are many exiting things being discovered and tested that may make a big impact on finding a cure for this currently incurable disease. It might be years before this research culminates in treatments, but there is progress being made.

Herpes in Men

Posted on January 8, 2012 by MonikaGold

While genital herpes or an HSV-2 infection may be more common in women, this is because it is easier for an infected male to transmit the disease to female partners than it is for a female to give the disease to any male. The Center for Disease Control Statistics show that in the age group of 14 to 49 years old, one out of five women and one out of nine men have genital herpes.

To see the CDC fact sheet on genital herpes see here.

For oral herpes the statistics show that as many as 80% of the adult population in the United States may have oral herpes or HSV-1.

Oral Herpes in Men

Herpes simplex 1 or HSV-1 is commonly called oral herpes. The physical symptoms of this viral infection are often referred to as cold sores or fever blisters. In men and women these sores will often occur on or around the mouth. There is also a form of this disease called oral-facial herpes in which the blisters or sores will show up in clusters on the chin, cheek, or even in or around the nose.

Men can mistake the early stages of oral herpes for a pimple, razor burn, a small crack at the side of the mouth, or a bug bite. The sores can be an itchy or tingly red bump. They can look like small white sores or blisters. If you or your partner has open oral herpes sores around or in their mouth, oral herpes can be transferred to the genital area during oral sex.

Typically oral herpes symptoms will start as an aching pain or burning in the lip area. Men with oral herpes may also have swollen throat glands or swelling in other lymph glands. They can also experience a low grade fever or a sore throat.

In the beginning men may have oral herpes that looks like one single cold sore or a cluster of blisters with red and swollen skin surrounding the breakout area. Once they’ve appeared the sores will generally break open within a few days, leak a clear fluid, and then scab over. They will generally heal and disappear within about ten days. Oral herpes will go through dormant periods and then reappear at any time.

Stress, illness, or overexposure to sun can precipitate a flare up of oral herpes. Many men who have oral herpes have such mild symptoms that they don’t realize they have this viral illness.

Oral herpes is highly contagious during an outbreak. It can be transferred to anyone by kissing or coming into contact with someone who is infected. Many children get oral herpes from a quick and casual kiss from an infected relative.

Genital Herpes in Men

Herpes simplex 2 or HSV-2 is commonly called genital herpes. On men this type of herpes has physical symptoms that will often show up as small groups of blisters on their penis or scrotum. The small sores may also form on the anus, urethra, buttocks, thighs, and if you participated in oral sex with an infected person during an outbreak, you can get genital herpes sores around the mouth area.

Typically the small blisters will pop, leak a clear fluid and then form a scab a few days after they appear. Once the sores have scabbed over it will generally take them about ten days to heal completely.

Estimates are that over 90% of the men and women who have the viral infection known as genital herpes, don’t realize that they have the disease. Men will often mistake the symptoms for razor burn, pimples or ingrown hairs, bug bites, and even jock itch.

There are many signs and symptoms that can indicate that you have genital herpes, these include:

Itchy or tingly feeling in the genital area
Fever
Headache
Feeling like you might be coming down with the flu
Pain or burning during urination
Pain or burning sensation around the buttocks and anus
Raw or burning sensation on the skin that may feel as if you had rug burn, or like you have a slight sunburn around the genitals and buttocks.
Depression and irritability
Muscle aches
Tender or swollen lymph nodes around the genital area

The tingling or slight burning sensation in the skin can serve as an early warning sign that you are about to have an outbreak. You can start antiviral medication at this time to minimize the effects of the flare-up and to help you heal faster.

Summary

While there is no cure for herpes in men or women, there are things you can do to minimize the effect of the disease on your life and that will help you heal faster, keeping outbreaks to a minimum. Talk to your doctor about your herpes symptoms if you haven’t been diagnosed. The diagnosis will allow the doctor to prescribe anti-viral treatments that may help you minimize the symptoms of the disease and the frequency of outbreaks by as much as fifty percent.

Remember that both oral and genital herpes are highly contagious with skin-to-skin contact. Treating the disease properly will minimize the risk of passing this disease to someone else.