The new "Scourge"
Genital herpes, although an ancient disease, was relatively uncommon in the United States until the late 1960's.
Spread primarily through sexual contact, the disease has become the most common venereal disease in this country,
afflicting an estimated 20 million Americans, with 500,000 new cases occurring each year.
The disease is spread most commonly by direct contact, meaning that to get herpes, uninfected skin must come in
contact with an active herpes sore. Oral sex is believed to explain the presence of Type 1 herpes sores in the
genital areas or Type 2 infections of the throat and mouth. Recent studies have found that the herpes simplex
virus can survive for short periods on toilet seats, towel and other such items, but most experts doubt that
the disease is very likely to be contracted from these sources. It is highly contagious through direct contact,
but in order to pass herpes to another person, there usually must be an active herpes sore or blister, although
there may be a shedding of the virus without suffering symptoms of an attack. Also, since herpes sores may be
hidden in the internal parts of the female genitalia or may not be painful, one may unwittingly infect others.
Typically, the herpes virus multiplies rapidly once it has penetrated the skin. The first symptoms are usually
an itching or tingling sensation, followed by the eruption of sores or blisters that are unusually painful. In fact,
the pain usually exceeds the actual medical seriousness of the disease. In the first attack, the sores customarily
appear two days to two weeks after exposure and last two to three weeks. Subsequent attacks, which may occur in a
few weeks or not for years, generally last about five days. Fever, general malaise and headaches may accompany the
first attack; these symptoms as well as the pain of the sores are usually milder in recurring attacks.
Once an attack subsides, the virus becomes dormant, raveling along the nerve fibers until it reaches a resting place.
In rare cases, the herpes virus may travel to the brain causing a serious, often fatal, form of encephalitis. More
commonly than it infects the brain, herpes may infect the cornea of the eye; if untreated, a herpetic eye infection
can lead to visual damage and even blindness. About 500,000 such eye infections occur each year in the United States.
Type 2 virus may invade the spinal cord, causing a type of meningitis. None of these complications, however, is as
common as recurrences at the original site of infection.
