Virally misunderstood

By Deborah Bateson
Updated December 4 2012 - 3:18pm, first published November 27 2012 - 9:33am
It can be hard to diagnose and often presents no symptoms - but one in five Australians has genital herpes.
It can be hard to diagnose and often presents no symptoms - but one in five Australians has genital herpes.

Genital herpes is common yet misunderstood. Despite infecting as many as one in five Australians, it can cause a great deal of anxiety. The herpes simplex virus (abbreviated to HSV) comes in two varieties. HSV-1 is mainly associated with cold sores of the mouth and lips while HSV-2 usually causes genital herpes, although HSV-1 related genital herpes is on the rise. This is partly due to the increase in oral sex but also relates to the fact that young people are not catching this common virus early in life as much as they used to. Somewhat unfairly, women are twice as likely as men to be infected with HSV-2.

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