how can one prevent themselves from getting this infection?
Suppressive antiviral therapy
Herpes simplex
Suppressive antiviral therapy reduces these risks by 50%. 
where did the first case of herpes come from It has been known for at least 2,000 years is it a bacterial, viral, or fungal disease? Viral infection how is this virus transmitted? By direct contact with body fluids or lesions of an infected individual what are the symptoms it gives? Small blisters in groups often called cold sores or fever blisters or may just cause a sore throat what are some of the tests done to detect this infection? The tests include culture of the virus, direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) studies to detect virus, skin biopsy, and polymerase chain reaction to test for presence of viral DNA how is this infection classified into? HSV-1 and HSV-2
wiki:20570801
Herpes simplex [SEP] Prevention
As with almost all sexually transmitted infections, women are more susceptible to acquiring genital HSV-2 than men. On an annual basis, without the use of antivirals or condoms, the transmission risk of HSV-2 from infected male to female is about 8–11%. This is believed to be due to the increased exposure of mucosal tissue to potential infection sites. Transmission risk from infected female to male is around 4–5% annually. Suppressive antiviral therapy reduces these risks by 50%. Antivirals also help prevent the development of symptomatic HSV in infection scenarios, meaning the infected partner will be seropositive but symptom-free by about 50%.