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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> Xu's team also found that the proportion of people with herpes simplex virus type 1 also decreased -- from 62 percent in 1988-1994 to 57.7 percent in 1999-2004, a relative decline of 6.9 percent. This decrease was not unexpected and is due to improvements in living and hygiene conditions, the researchers said.
However, the number of people affected by genital infections linked to type-1 herpes infection appears to be rising. The authors explained that, because fewer Americans are getting infected with the type 1 virus during childhood, they may be more susceptible to sexually acquired genital infections later on.
While there has been a drop in the number of Americans infected with either form of the virus, herpes still affects millions of people in the United States, Xu pointed out. "Overall, the prevalence is 17 percent -- that means one in six Americans are still infected with this virus," she said.
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Increased efforts to stop the spread of herpes could bring those numbers down, however. "The surest way to stop the spread of any sexually transmitted disease is abstinence," she said. "Consistent and correct condom use can reduce, but not eliminate, the risk of transmission," she added.
In addition, treatment for herpes can also help prevent the spread of the virus, Xu noted.
One expert thinks these new findings confirm how prevalent herpes is in the United States.
"The important message from this study is how common herpes is and that most people don't know they have it," said Dr. Cynthia Krause, an assistant clinical professor of obstetrics/gynecology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in New York City. "The decline is a small percent compared to the incredible prevalence of the infection.
Another expert believes much more can be done to curb infection rates.
"There is no herpes-control program in the United States," said Dr. Jeffrey D. Klausner, director of STD Prevention and Control Services at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. "I hope that by highlighting that tens of millions of Americans have herpes infections, it will get people to think about what kind of control programs may be necessary."
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