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Genital Herpes
Genital Herpes
What is Genital Herpes?
Genital herpes refers to a
sexually transmitted disease caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). The virus spreads from one individual to another primarily due to sexual contact. Once the infection occurs, the virus remains dormant in the body and can become active again at any time. When the signs and symptoms of the disease are manifested, it is known as a ‘herpes outbreak’.
Genital herpes occurs commonly in a large number of people. It affects both men and women and leads to symptoms like itching, pain and sores in the genital region. In many cases, the disease may go unnoticed as there are no visible symptoms. This greatly increases the risk of contagion, as an individual infected with genital herpes can pass on the disease to another individual even if he or she does not develop any visible sores. There is no cure for genital herpes, but there are medications which help to alleviate the symptoms and prevent the spread of the infection.
Alternative Names: Herpes simplex – genital, Herpes – genital, Herpes virus 2, HSV - 2
References
- Lawrence Stanberry, Anthony Cunningham, Gregory Mertz, Adrian Mindel, Barry Peters, Michael Reitano, Stephen Sacks, Anna Wald, Sawko Wassilew, Paul Woolley, New developments in the epidemiology, natural history and management of genital herpes, Antiviral Research, Volume 42, Issue 1, May 1999, Pages 1-14, ISSN 0166-3542, 10.1016/S0166-3542(99)00004-2.
- Margaret Perlia Bavis, Diane Yeager Smith, Martha Zervopoulos Siomos, Genital Herpes: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Counseling in the Adolescent Patient, The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, Volume 5, Issue 6, June 2009, Pages 415-420, ISSN 1555-4155, 10.1016/j.nurpra.2008.11.004.