Who is affected by genital herpes
Genital herpes is one of the three most prevalent sexually transmitted infections in Canada and one of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide.
- Most genital herpes infections are acquired by the age of 30.1
- More women than men have genital herpes.
- In the United States, the greatest increase in genital herpes infection in the past decade has been among teenagers.
- The risk for transmission from an infected mother to her newborn is highest (30% to 50%) for mothers who have a primary infection but who may not have apparent blisters or sores. If a pregnant woman has recurrent outbreaks, the risk of passing the virus to the baby is reduced to less than 1%.2
| Author: | Douglas Dana Sabra L. Katz-Wise Ralph Poore | Last Updated: April 4, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, MPH - Infectious Disease Andrew Swan, MD, CCFP, FCFP - Family Medicine | |
 | ||
| |