Posted on 08/01/2006 8:00:18 PM PDT by DaveLoneRanger
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Infections with the virus that causes genital herpes are common among teen girls, a new study shows.
While none of the young women in the study had oral or genital herpes symptoms, some of those who tested positive for the virus were shedding it in their vaginal area, meaning it would be possible for them to transmit the infection to others, Dr. Kenneth H. Fife of the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis and colleagues report.
"It was something that we sort of expected to find based on the incidence of other sexually transmitted infections in this population," Fife told Reuters Health in an interview.
A national survey of the US population conducted between 1988 and 1994 found that more than one in five people over 12 had blood tests that showed evidence for infection with herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV 2), the virus typically responsible for genital herpes, Fife and his team note in their report in the July issue of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. This represents a 30 percent increase from 1976-1980. There is also evidence that genital infections with HSV 1, which normally causes cold sores around the mouth, are on the rise, they add.
To examine the incidence and prevalence of both strains of the virus among adolescent women, Fife and his team analyzed data from a study in which a group of young women were followed closely to determine if they contracted any sexually transmitted infections. Their analysis included results of blood and genital specimen tests obtained every three months from100 women aged 14 to 18.
At the study's outset, they found, 59.6 percent of the women tested positive for HSV 1, while 13.5 percent carried HSV 2. During the follow-up period, from 1999 to 2004, four of the study participants contracted new HSV 1 infections, while seven acquired HSV 2.
Among the women who developed new HSV 2 infections, none had symptoms of genital herpes, but three were shedding the virus in their vaginal area.
It is likely that at least some of the new HSV 1 infections that occurred among women in the study were genital, given that genital HSV 1 infections are quite common in young adults, the researchers note.
They conclude, "HSV infections are common in adolescent women." They point out that efforts to reduce these infections "need to target children before adolescence."
Stupid girls, sacrificing their lives and souls for cheap sexual amusement.
Glad I'm all grow'd up ....
If some guy gave my daughter herpes before she was an adult he would have no worries about making a woman pregnant.
It's usually 1 guy giving it to 10 girls.
That tells us much about what kind of guys today's girls prefer.
That leads me to think that the only reason anybody sees genital herpes at all is that the idiots keep on doing the stupid kinds of sex. Am I missing something.
It's the society we've created. Remove the thought of morality and more importantly God and this is the result. If it feels good then it is good, consequences be damned.
TV shows now show an unwed character who comments that he hasn't had sex in three whole months. The rest of the characters gasp in shock at the notion of someone going that long without it.
Music glorifies youth and sexuality to a perverse degree. Not only rap and rock but a lot of the rockabilly that passes for "country radio" these days. A lot of this is marketed specifically at teenage girls because of their high rates of disposable ncome.
Plots of older movies are dumbed down and the sexuality played up again designed for consumption by teeenage girls.
Society pulling strings that make income so tight that both parents need to work to make ends meet. Resulting in tired parents not maonitoring their teenager as much as they need.
This is all going to come to a day of reckoning. I can't think of a single "if it feel's good do it" society that has ever stood for very long. If we do it will be because these elements of our society have been corrected.
The number of HSV-2 (gential herpes) cases in the U.S. is staggering. More than 30 million people are believed to be infected. "Safe sex" practices aren't particularly effective in stopping the spread of the virus, either (something not a lot of "Safe Sex Advocates" have bothered to mention until recently, btw).
It isn't even the "music" anymore. MTV, M2, VH1 et all have been teen sex lifestyle channels. Reality shows and "documentary" programming fill the schedules.
Teenage boys: It is NOT just a "cold sore."
"That leads me to think that the only reason anybody sees genital herpes at all is that the idiots keep on doing the stupid kinds of sex. Am I missing something."
You can be shedding the latent virus almost constantly with absolutely no evidence of a sore, plus the same virus is not specific to one part of the body, but can show up in the nose, mouth, eyes, vagina, etc. Where it is expressed depends on what nerve ganglion(s) the virus resides or moves into. Herpes is very adept at moving from person to person, which is why probably 95 to 98% of us are infected with it.
She may already have it, and it may not be from some 'guy'...
That 'aunt' who had the occasional 'cold sore' or 'fever blister', other relative, friend, or even you yourself could have passed along, via those doting kisses, oral herpes...
Likewise, chicken pox, shingles, Zosters, are also part of the herpes family.
But...don't take my word for it....here is what the CDC has to say:
Two out of three U.S. residents over the age of 12 years have herpes, reports the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A CDC study shows that herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) - most commonly associated with oral cold sores - has an overall prevalence of 65 percent. This represents 90 million U.S. HSV-1 infections.
There is a lot of fear, ignorance, and stigma surrounding the herpes issue.
Just an FYI....
~GCR~
That tells us much about what kind of guys today's girls prefer.
Or what kind of Girl today's Guys prefer. we called them "sluts" and they wern't that popular.
Sample size is 100. Confidence intervals around their point estimates are going to be HUGE.
NO explanation of how this sample was chosen. Was it a random sample? I doubt it. If not, then what inferences can we draw from this study about the general population?
NONE.
thanks for the info............
After only 35 years in diagnostic radiology, my advice is...
1. keep it in your pants boys
2. keep the zipper shut girls
3. find a mate to spend your life with
IMHO
The Brothers Karamazov/Dostoevsky - "If God does not exist, then everything is permitted"
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