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Herpes, genital

How common is genital herpes?

Genital herpes is very common. Anyone who is sexually active can get it.

About 1 in 5 American adults are infected with herpes simplex virus type 2, the most common cause of genital herpes.

Source:
Fleming DT, McQuillan GM, Johnson RE, et al.
Herpes simplex virus type 2 in the United States, 1976 to 1994.
New England Journal of Medicine. 1997; 337: 1105-1111.

¹ (To read about the types of virus that cause genital herpes, see What is herpes?)

Most people infected with the herpes virus (type 1 or type 2) don't know about it. This could be because:

They don't ever get symptoms such as sores, blisters or cracking skin on their genitals
They've had symptoms, but they weren't bad enough to go to the doctor
They went to the doctor, but the doctor didn't think it was herpes.

Genital herpes is getting more common. A third more people had the infection at the end of the 1990s than 25 years earlier.

Source:
Fleming DT, McQuillan GM, Johnson RE, et al.
Herpes simplex virus type 2 in the United States, 1976 to 1994.
New England Journal of Medicine. 1997; 337: 1105-1111.

Sources for the information on this page:

Fleming DT, McQuillan GM, Johnson RE, et al.Herpes simplex virus type 2 in the United States, 1976 to 1994.New England Journal of Medicine. 1997; 337: 1105-1111.

This information was last updated on Jun 08, 2008

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