Some STDs are caused by viruses. They include herpes simplex, hepatitis, genital warts and AIDS.
Herpes simplex
The herpes simplex virus (HSV) causes blistery sores (herpes simplex lesions) that most often occur near where moist lining membranes meet the skin around the mouth, the genitals and the anus.
There are two types of HSV: type I and type II. Type I mainly causes cold sores around the mouth. Most people who get oral herpes have been infected during childhood, mostly before 5 years of age. Type II usually affects the genital region, and is most often sexually transmitted. However, either type of HSV can infect any part of the body covered with stratified squamous epithelium. I have seen it on the skin of the buttocks, thighs and neck, and even on the hand of a laboratory technician who accidently pricked her finger while culturing the virus.
HSV belongs to the herpes virus family, which has over 50 members. Only a few are known to cause disease in humans. Once you pick up any herpes virus, it stays in your body for the rest of your life. Though there are often symptoms soon after you first become infected, after recovery these viruses remain in a latent (inactive) state most of the time. However, in some circumstances they can become reactivated to cause symptoms and possibly make you infectious again.
Genital herpes
Herpes is a word that sends a shiver of fear through most people. It can’t be cured and you never know when it’s likely to flare up again. However, herpes is rarely a long-term risk to your physical health, though knowing you have it can make you very miserable.
People with genital herpes often feel worse about their infection because it received a lot of sensational media publicity as a sexually transmissible disease during the 1970s and early 1980s. Many of these reports implied that herpes is a disease of sexually promiscuous people (which it can be, but certainly isn’t always), with the result that genital herpes sufferers were made to feel guilty and ashamed.
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