 [ Symptoms ] i had a ct scan i have gallstones my gastroenterologist is acting like i am terminal [ Disease ] the u s national institutes of health supports various types of research clinical trials studies of the biology of herpes simplex virus the clinicaltrials gov website currently shows 93 open studies related to various aspects of herpes the site also shows a total of 399 open or completed studies over the past several years in terms of progress the answer is slow why because viruses are notoriously hard to crack we are still trying to decode them if you will eventually i think we will win the battle against viruses in terms of your girlfriend transmitting the herpes simplex virus hsv which causes cold sores  oral herpes  and genital herpes the key is not to have any physical contact with the active lesion in other words do not kiss her when she has an active cold sore and do not allow her to kiss your genitals when she has a cold sore as long as you do that you should be ok hope this helps