SEATTLE, May 31 (UPI) -- The risk of transmitting the virus that causes most cases of genital herpes could be cut in half by testing and informing sexual partners, says a U.S. study.
Until recently, there was little evidence to show that knowledge of infection would lead to decreased transmission of herpes simplex virus, or HSV, to others, according to Dr. Anna Wald and colleagues at the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
The researchers studied 199 patients with newly acquired genital HSV-2 infection and found that most people who transmitted HSV did not know that they had genital herpes.
"These findings suggest that testing persons with HSV type-specific serologic assays and encouraging disclosure may result in decreased risk of HSV-2 transmission to sexual partners," said Wald.
The researchers suggest that physicians should not only increase testing for HSV but should also counsel their patients about transmitting the virus and disclosing their HSV status to sex partners.
The findings are published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.
