CDC Says Genital Herpes Cases Are Increasing

Genital herpes is quickly becoming one of the most common forms of sexually transmitted diseases in Americans.

This news comes from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention who state that about 16% of Americans between 14 and 49 are living with the virus.

There is no cure for the virus, meaning that once you have it, you have it for life however there are drugs to treat symptoms.

Women appear to be more likely to contract the virus than men, and black women lead the way when it comes to the demographic with the highest percentage of positive cases.

Not helping the situation is the fact that up to 80% of people with the virus do not even know they have it, making it easy to transmit to others.

“The message is herpes is quite common. The symptoms can be often very innocuous,” said Dr. John Douglas of the CDC.

“Because herpes is so prevalent it becomes … a really important reason to use condoms on a consistent and correct basis with all of your partners,” Douglas added.