Herpes

Herpes Disorders Recurrence Transmission and prevention Diagnosis Epidemiology Treatment

Epidemiology

Although many people infected with HSV develop labial or genital lesions, the majority are either undiagnosed or display no physical symptoms—individuals with no symptoms are described as asymptomatic or as having subclinical herpes. In many infections, the first symptom a person will have of their own infection is the horizontal transmission to a sexual partner or the vertical transmission of neonatal herpes to a newborn at term. Since most asymptomatic individuals are unaware of their infection, they are considered at high risk for spreading HSV. Many studies have been performed around the world to estimate the numbers of individuals infected with HSV-1 and HSV-2 by determining if they have developed antibodies against either viral species. This information provides population prevalence of HSV viral infections in individuals with or without active disease.