Mar. 11, 1998 ORLANDO, FL (March 1, 1998) - The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention recently reported a 30% increase
in the prevalence of genital herpes in the U.S. over the last
two decades. This indicates that approximately 45 million
persons in this country are seropositive for the most common
cause of genital herpes, herpes simplex virus HSV-2. That is
roughly one in five persons over 12 years of age that have
evidence of HSV-2 infection. Abstinence is the only guaranteed
method to prevent the transmission of genital herpes. Many
people with genital herpes report that they avoid sex during
outbreaks because the genital ulcers that signal an outbreak can
be painful, taking the pleasure out of sexual relations. Other
couples refrain from sexual relations because they don't want to
transmit the herpes to their partners. "There is logic in that
thinking, since there is more virus present on the genitalia
during an outbreak than between outbreaks. Yet, if avoidance of
sexual relations during outbreaks o