U.S. Herpes Cases on the Decline

10-year drop was sharpest among teens, researchers say

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

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TUESDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Changes in sexual behavior may be reducing the number of Americans infected with the herpes simplex virus type 2, which causes most cases of genital herpes.

Researchers also found that the prevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 infection -- which is typically spread during childhood via nonsexual contact -- is also falling.

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"The most exciting finding is that we looked at the proportion of Americans infected with the herpes simplex virus and found a decrease over the past decade," said lead author Dr. Fujie Xu, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His team reported the findings in the Aug. 23-30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Overall, the number of Americans aged 14 to 49 who tested positive for herpes 2 infection fell by a relative rate of 19 percent between 1988 and 2004 -- from a prevalence of 21 percent in the late 1980s and early 1990s to 17 percent 10 years later, the researchers reported.

Herpes simplex virus type 2 causes most genital herpes and is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. Herpes simplex virus type 1 is usually transmitted non-sexually but is a principle cause of genital herpes in some developed countries.

In the study, researchers at the CDC compared data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) from two time periods: 1988-1994 and 1999-2004. Together, the surveys included more than 20,600 Americans aged 14 to 49.

The drop in herpes type 2 infections between 1988 and 2004 was particularly significant among teens, the researchers found. The number of people aged 14 to 19 who tested positive for herpes simplex 2 dropped from 5.8 percent in the 1988-1994 survey to just 1.6 percent 10 years later.

"The decrease appears to be due to changes in sexual behavior," Xu said. These changes may include careful partner selection, condom use and choosing oral sex over vaginal sex, the researchers noted.

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