Many genital herpes carriers (HSV 2 carriers) do not know they have the virus and so spread it to multiple unassuming sexual partners without even realising. Some of their sexual partners will be asymptomatic for life and others will have an outbreak of sores and blisters on a regular basis. The question is who is more infectious?
A recent, large scale study from the University of Washington shows that those with asymptomatic herpes will shed the virus less frequently than individuals who experience symptoms however the amount of virus shed during active episodes of herpes are similar.
498 people collected a genital swab over a period of 30 days and the swabs collected were assessed for viral shedding. In addition, a note was taken of whether there were visible signs of outbreak.
Subclinical shedding is the number of days that the virus is shed without the presence of lesions and subclinical shedding was higher in patients who experienced symptoms. The amount of shedding while the herpes virus was active in either symptomatic or asymptomatic patients was the same.
410 participants experienced symptoms and among them the active virus was detected on approximately 20% of the days they were assessed. The active virus was detected in roughly 10% of the days that the 88 participants who were asymptomatic were tested.
This supports the claim that those who are asymptomatic or have unrecognised HSV2 are as infectious as those who are symptomatic. Most of the viral shedding happens when people have no symptoms.
The researchers also state that approximately 16% of sexually active US adults are seropositive with HSV2, which means that they have the antibodies for the virus but only 10% have recognized herpes of the genitals. 1 in 4 people in the UK are believed to have HSV2 antibodies. You can get tested by post using The STI Clinic's herpes testing service.
The study, published this week in The Journal of the American Medical Association, has highlighted a need for more blood testing in order to uncover those who have HSV2 but who do not know it. The only way to curb the spread of this virus is to be open about a positive diagnosis with new partners, use condoms and get treated when you have an outbreak. The Online Clinic has a large number of patients who take Aciclovir and other antiviral to help suppress herpes outbreaks.