The WHO reveals that more than 1 in 5 people worldwide live with genital herpes and calls for more research into this infection.
- Most genital herpes have few symptoms. Signs include painful lesions that reappear over time.
- There are two types of Herpes simplex viruses: HSV-1 and HSV-2.
- According to new estimates, more than one in five people aged 15 to 49 are infected with these viruses.
Around 846 million people aged 15 to 49 worldwide have genital herpes. This represents more than one member of this age group in 5. Faced with these figures published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infectionsthe World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for the development of better prevention and treatment tools for this often silent sexually transmitted infection.
Genital herpes: 42 million new cases per year
According to the estimates presented in the WHO report December 11at least one person per second contracts genital herpes. Which corresponds to 42 million new cases per year. If these infections are minimally symptomatic, or even asymptomatic, they can cause painful lesions and recurrent blisters in the genital area, causing significant discomfort. The disease is also likely to cause serious complications, including neonatal herpes.
Two types of herpes simplex virus are responsible for the infection: HSV-1 and HSV-2. In 2020, 376 million patients diagnosed with genital herpes carried HSV-1 and 520 million had HSV-2. Fifty million of them had both strains. If HSV-2 is transmitted during sexual intercourse, HSV-1, which also causes oral herpes, is mainly spread during childhood through saliva and contact with lesions.
However, scientists note “Although 2020 estimates show virtually no change in the prevalence of genital HSV-2 infections compared to 2016, the number of genital HSV-1 infections is higher. In recent years, several countries observed that patterns of HSV-1 transmission have changed, with genital infections in adults increasing as oral infections in children are decreasing.. According to the authors of the study, this phenomenon can be explained by “less crowding and better hygiene”, which lead to lower oral spread of HSV-1 during childhood, but to an increase in “susceptibility to the virus in adulthood”.
“While in most cases genital herpes causes few symptoms, it remains painful and embarrassing for millions of people around the world and puts a strain on already overburdened health systems as infections are so numerous “, recalls Dr Meg Doherty, Director of the Department of Global Programs for HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections at WHO.
Genital herpes: need for research and prevention
“There is an urgent need for better prevention and treatment tools, not only to reduce the transmission of the herpes virus, but also to help reduce the transmission of HIV”adds the expert, especially since there is currently no cure for herpes.
For Dr Sami Gottlieb, author of the report and a doctor in the WHO Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, genital herpes is “too little studied” due to “from the stigma that surrounds it”. They are calling for an expansion of research and investment in the development of new vaccines and treatments against herpes.
While waiting for the arrival of new means to fight the disease, several actions can limit contamination, such as using condoms during intimate relationships and not sharing bathroom linen with those around you.
It is also advisable to avoid any sexual contact during a primary infection and outbreaks of genital herpes, because the risk of transmission is major, even with a condom. “If you have cold sores (or cold sores), do not have sexual intercourse that brings the mouth into contact with the penis. Indeed, the virus present on the lips can be transmitted to the partner’s sexual parts”advisesHealth Insurance on its website.
The WHO, for its part, recommends offering HIV testing to people with symptoms of genital herpes and “if necessary, pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV infection.”
