The figure is chilling:according to the first international estimate made by the World Health Organization (WHO), and published last week in the journal Plos One, two thirds of the world's population are infected with Herpes. simplex type 1 (HSV-1), which is transmitted primarily through mucosal contact and causes orofacial/labial herpes (or "cold sores")...but also genital herpes. Very contagious, this virus currently has no treatment. Gloops!
Bristol University researcher Katharine Looker and her colleagues made estimates for the six WHO regions, using data from 2012. That's when they came up with this mind-blowing number:3, 7 billion people under the age of 50 were infected with a herpes virus in 2012, i.e. 67% of the world's population! While cases are more common in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, in Europe, 69% of women and 61% of men under the age of 50 are carriers of the virus.
The WHO recalls that several vaccines are currently in development. In the meantime, one can only use antiviral drugs (to reduce the severity and frequency of symptoms) and avoid contact with others during flare-ups (and cross your fingers)…
