HPV AND HERPES: Why safer sex just isn't enough!

HPV is likely the most common STD among young, sexually active people. At any one time, an estimated 20 million people in the United States have genital HPV infections that can be transmitted to others. Every year, about 5.5 million people acquire a genital HPV infection (CDC). A recent U.S. study among female college students found that an average of 14 percent became infected with genital HPV each year. About 43 percent of the women in the study were infected with HPV during the three-year study period (Ho, 1998). Typical prevalence of HPV for women under the age of 25 is between 28 and 46 percent (Burk, 1996; Bauer, 1991). Most estimates suggest that one out of every three sexually active young adults may carry HPV, yet far fewer have visible, active warts they could recognize or self-diagnose (as little as only 1-2%), though they are infected and CAN and likely will still transmit HPV. HPV can cause cervical cancer and make a person with the infection more susceptible to other infectious diseases, like HIV. It is not yet curable. Some people may shed the virus, but there is no accurate way of knowing who has and who has not.

• small, cauliflower-like warts on the vulva, vagina, anus, penis, inside the urethra, or in the throat.

Case 2 (male warts):

HSV-2 -- Genital Herpes

It is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the United States, with as many as one million people in the United States becoming infected each year. While genital herpes continues to spread across all social, economic, racial and ethnic boundaries, prevalence of infection increased most dramatically in teens and young adults in the late 1980s and early 1990s (Fleming, 1997). In a national household survey, less than 10 percent of people who tested positive with herpes knew they were infected (Fleming, 1997 - from the CDC). 45 million people are infected with genital herpes, about one in every five people have it. In addition, HSV-1 (oral herpes) is carried by about one in two people in the United States (that's at least 50%), and can be spread via oral or oral/genital contact, creating a genital herpes infection with HSV-1. Like HPV, there is currently no cure for herpes infections.

So, what is HSV?

There are two types of the Herpes Simplex Virus: Simplex I and Simplex II. Simplex I usually infects the mouth (cold sores are Herpes Simplex I) , and Simplex II usually infects the genitals. However, both types can be transmitted sexually (through kissing and oral sex as well as through skin and genital contact), and HS I is not limited to the mouth area. It can also sometimes cause genital-area or anal-area lesions. Herpes is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the United States and United Kingdom. About one in five people are infected with genital herpes.

How is it spread?

Herpes viruses are spread by contact between an infected area of the body and an uninfected, susceptible area of an uninfected person's body. This means that herpes can be spread from ANY affected part of the body: penis, vulva, anus, mouth, lips/face, etc. If virus from an active sore is on a hand or an object, it can also be transmitted that way -- for instance, a person with cold sores could wipe their mouth with their fingers, then perform manual sex on an uninfected person and infect them that way. It can even be transmitted from hand to eye. Ouch.

Sexually, it can be spread by vaginal anal or oral intercourse, manual sex, and general touch or kissing. Herpes is most contagious when one person with the disease has an active sore, however it may also be spread when no sores are visible or perceived to be present.

What are its symptoms?

• A rash or blisters that recur in small clusters that may be seen on the vulva, vagina or cervix, on the penis, buttocks or anus, or on the mouth and other areas of the body. It is generally itchy, sore or painful.
• The first occurrence of herpes may also cause itching or burning while urinating, swollen glands, fever, headache, loss of appetite, and general lethargy or tiredness. These first symptoms usually occur within one month of the initial transmission, but a rash may not be visible or occur for years afterward.

How is it diagnosed?

A doctor or clinicians sampling of an active sore can only accurately diagnose it.

Is it treatable?

Herpes symptoms and outbreaks can be reduced with medication, but the disease still remains in the body even when treated.

Is it curable?

There is currently no cure for any form of the Herpes virus.

Can it effect fertility?

Herpes generally does not affect fertility for either men or women. However, herpes can cause severe problems for newborns, especially if birth occurs during an outbreak of active sores or lesions. Herpes infection can potentially cause miscarriage or stillbirth, or chronic health problems and developmental disabilities in a live birth.

Is it fatal?! NO

How can we protect against it?

People with herpes should NOT have physical sexual contact (vaginal or anal intercourse, oral intercourse, manual intercourse, kissing, etc) with others when the sores are present or when they can feel the sensations are present that signal an approaching outbreak. Because people can have herpes infection without having a viasble rash or outbreak, and because condoms only offer limited protection from herpes (since herpes can infect areas of skin not covered by condoms), both sexual partners should be tested BEFORE any sexual intimacy of any sort, and safer sex should ALWAYS be practiced.

What does herpes look like?

To see what herpes sores may look like on men or women, see the following (note, the photos are explicit, and do represent more severe, not mild, cases of infection-- in new cases, sores may appear just one at a time, rather than in clusters of many as shown)::

Case1 (female with ulcers):