Most people with herpes, chlamydia unaware of infection

Nearly 14 per cent of Canadian youth and adults may be infected with a sexually transmitted herpes virus, the vast majority of them unknowingly, according to a new report.

As part of a study, urine and blood samples were collected between 2009 and 2011 from about 3,250 Canadians.

Participants were asked if they had ever been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection. None of those who tested positive for chlamydia reported having received a diagnosis of an STI.

Of those who tested positive for herpes simplex 2, only six per cent were aware that they carried the virus. The remainder were unaware they were infected.

Statistics Canada called Wednesday's report the first to analyze lab-confirmed cases of chlamydia and herpes simplex type 2 virus using a nationally representative sample.

The infections can have serious immediate and long-term physical and psychological consequence. Most people with chlamydia have no symptoms. The infections can be treated with antibiotics. In women, chlamydia infection can lead to infertility or ectopic pregnancies — pregnancies where the fertilized egg begins to develop in a fallopian tube or outside the uterus.

Infections with herpes simplex 2 often also cause no symptoms though it can lead to blisters and sores around the genitals, rectum or mouth. Medication will not cure herpes, but can help to reduce discomfort from blisters and other symptoms, HealthLink BC's website said.

"The results of this analysis show that at ages 14 to 59, the prevalence of chlamydia is less than one per cent, and that HSV-2 affects about 14 per cent of the people in this age range," the agency's authors concluded.

"A comparison of laboratory confirmed infections with self-reports of diagnoses suggests that almost all respondents testing positive for chlamydia or HSV-2 were unaware that they were infected."

Although it is a reportable disease, chlamydia is what's known as a silent infection. Most people have no symptoms. Antibiotics can cure the infection.

In men, complications of chlamydia are rarer, though infertility can occur.

The researchers did not delve into specifics behind the rates of chlamydia infection, given its low prevalence in the study.

For the herpes infections, however, they did look report on prevalence based on gender, socioeconomic and educational status, age and racial background.

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Condoms Don’t Always Prevent Herpes Infection; polyDNA Monthly Survey Results Show Public isn't Aware of Facts

During one particular study, it was noted that "24 sets of condoms were tested and all failed." (Human Life International, 2010) [1]

Rochester, NY (PRWEB) March 27, 2013

As new results from a monthly survey come in, polyDNA has learned that the public is unaware that genital herpes can be transmitted even when using condoms.

For instance, the public did not realize that the CDC notes on its website, that while condom use can reduce the risk of herpes transmission, “outbreaks can occur in areas that are not covered by a condom.” [2]

Another study showed that "Spillage from condoms occurs as much as 65% to 75% of the time."[3] and “Higher per-use rates of breakage or slippage (of condoms) among non-main partners were also observed in our analysis involving heterosexual partners during vaginal sex .” [4]

This is also one reason that Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and philanthropist has promised to offer a $100,000 grant through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to anyone, from students and scientists to entrepreneurs, who can invent a next-generation condom. [5]

polyDNA found that the public was simply unaware that because of issues such as spillage, slippage, and breakage, condoms may fail, thus increasing the risk of herpes transmission. Moreover, the public also did not realize that herpes may be transmitted through skin-to-skin contact around areas the condoms do not cover.

The public should be aware of the relationship between safer sex practices and genital herpes prevention. polyDNA recommends boosting the immune system against a latent herpes infection through the use of a scientific, all natural remedy. That remedy is Gene-Eden-VIR. A recent post marketing clinical study showed that Gene-Eden-VIR is effective against the latent herpes virus. [6]

This all-natural product was scientifically designed to help the human body maintain low concentrations of the dormant or latent herpes virus.

By helping the body's immune system target the latent herpes virus, people also lower their risk of developing fever blisters, cold sores, or genital herpes symptoms.

Gene-Eden-VIR is highly effective against the latent herpes virus, each ingredient was chosen through a scientific approach. Scientists scanned thousands of scientific and medical papers published in various medical and scientific journals around the world to identify the safest, most effective natural ingredients that target the latent forms of both HSV-1 and HSV-2. [7]

In addition, each bottle is GMP Certified.

To learn more about Gene-Eden-VIR, visit http://www.gene-eden-kill-virus.com.

References:

1. http://www.hli.org/index.php/condoms/139

2. http://www.cdc.gov/std/herpes/STDFact-Herpes.htm

3. Bjorklund and Gordon. Univ of Manitoba. Nov. 1990.

4. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540121.2012.668285

5. http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/5769/20130325/bill-gates-offers-1-m-invent-worlds-next-generation-condom.htm

6: http://www.cbcd.net/Gene-Eden-VIR-Clinical-Study.php

7: http://www.gene-eden-kill-virus.com/studies.php

polyDNA is a biotechnology company that develops dietary supplements using the unique scientific method developed by Dr. Hanan Polansky, which is based on Computer Intuition.

In addition to his unique scientific method, Dr. Polansky published the highly acclaimed scientific discovery, called Microcompetition with Foreign DNA. The discovery explains how foreign DNA fragments, and specifically, DNA of latent viruses, cause most major diseases.

polyDNA developed Gene-Eden-VIR , an antiviral natural remedy that helps the immune system kill latent viruses.

Mike Davis
PolyDNA
5852509999
Email Information

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Vaginal herpes outbreak or yeast infection?

Guest author from our community: Katie S.

When first experiencing symptoms of an STD, not everybody knows that it’s actually an STD that’s occurring in their bodies. When my body first started displaying herpes symptoms, I 100% mistook it for a yeast infection or UTI. My brain couldn’t even fathom the thought that it would be an STD. I’d had yeast infections before, and I figured that this must just be the worst one I’ve ever gotten. When I went to the clinic, expecting to walk out with an antibiotic, I was shocked to be walking out with Acyclovir for genital herpes. 

After getting home and looking up herpes, I realized why I was so confused. Vaginal herpes symptoms are very similar to yeast infection symptoms. They both can cause vaginal discharge and odor, burning, itching, irritation, redness, bladder infection like symptoms, swelling and blisters. Unlike yeast infections where itching in usually generalized throughout the vagina, a herpes outbreak will usually be in one or two designated areas. A herpes outbreak also consists of blisters that turn into herpes sores, that then crust back into healthy skin. During a herpes infection, flu-like symptoms may appear 24-48 hours before any itchiness is perceived especially during the first episode. This doesn’t happen with vaginal yeast infections.

It’s been 10 months now, and I’ve gotten pretty used to my herpes outbreaks. I’m very happy to say that none of them have been as painful as my first herpes outbreak. I take herpes medication whenever I feel any sort of itching, burning, or discomfort beginning in my body (also known as herpes prodrome symptoms). This helps to stop the outbreak, and make it less painful. My body has gotten used to the virus, and my brain has gotten used to the fact that it literally is just a skin condition that happens to be in a very private area. There’s no need to make it more than it is!

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Brain displays an intrinsic mechanism for fighting infection

Dec. 10, 2012 — White blood cells have long reigned as the heroes of the immune system. When an infection strikes, the cells, produced in bone marrow, race through the blood to fight off the pathogen. But new research is emerging that individual organs can also play a role in immune system defense, essentially being their own hero. In a study examining a rare and deadly brain infection, scientists at The Rockefeller University have found that the brain cells of healthy people likely produce their own immune system molecules, demonstrating an "intrinsic immunity" that is crucial for stopping an infection.

Shen-Ying Zhang, a clinical scholar in the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, has been studying children with Herpes simplex encephalitis, a life-threatening brain infection from the herpes virus, HSV-1, that can cause significant brain damage. The scientists already knew from previous work that children with this encephalitis have a genetic defect that impairs the function of an immune system receptor -- toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) -- in the brain. For this study they wanted to see how the defect in TLR3 was hampering the brain's ability to fight the herpes infection.

When TLR3 detects a pathogen it triggers an immune response causing the release of proteins called interferons to sound the alarm and "interfere" with the pathogen's replication. It's most commonly associated with white blood cells, found throughout the body, but here the researchers were examining the receptor's presence on neurons and other brain cells.

"One interesting thing about these patients is that they didn't have any of the other, more common herpes symptoms. They didn't have an infection on their skin or their mouths, just in their brains. We therefore hypothesized that the TLR3 response must be specifically responsible for keeping the herpes virus from infecting the brain and not necessary in other parts of the body," says Zhang.

The lab, headed by Jean-Laurent Casanova, collaborated with scientists at Harvard Medical School and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute to create induced pluripotent stem cells. Made from the patients' own tissue, the stem cells were developed into central nervous system cells that carried the patients' genetic defects. Zhang exposed the cells to HSV-1 and to synthetic double-stranded RNA, which mimics a byproduct of the virus that spurs the toll-like receptors into action. By measuring levels of interferon, Zhang showed that the patients' TLR3 response was indeed faulty; their cells weren't making these important immune system proteins, leaving them unable to fight off the infection.

Zhang also exposed the patients' blood cells to the virus and found that the TLR3 defect was not an issue there as it was in the brain -- interferons were released by other means.

Because the toll-like receptors on neurons proved to be vital in preventing the encephalitis infection, the researchers concluded that brain cells use it as an in-house mechanism to fight infection, rather than relying on white blood cells. When its function was impaired, patients couldn't get better.

"This is evidence of an intrinsic immunity, a newly-discovered function of the immune system," says Zhang. "It's likely that other organs also have their own specific tools for fighting infection."

The researchers are putting together a pilot study to test an interferon-based treatment in patients with the encephalitis, believing it will help speed recovery and increase the survival rate when used alongside antiviral drugs. They'll also explore whether the brain displays an intrinsic immunity to other types of viral infection.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rockefeller University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Fabien G. Lafaille, Itai M. Pessach, Shen-Ying Zhang, Michael J. Ciancanelli, Melina Herman, Avinash Abhyankar, Shui-Wang Ying, Sotirios Keros, Peter A. Goldstein, Gustavo Mostoslavsky, Jose Ordovas-Montanes, Emmanuelle Jouanguy, Sabine Plancoulaine, Edmund Tu, Yechiel Elkabetz, Saleh Al-Muhsen, Marc Tardieu, Thorsten M. Schlaeger, George Q. Daley, Laurent Abel, Jean-Laurent Casanova, Lorenz Studer, Luigi D. Notarangelo. Impaired intrinsic immunity to HSV-1 in human iPSC-derived TLR3-deficient CNS cells. Nature, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature11583

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Why Even Treated Genital Herpes Sores Boost The Risk Of HIV Infection

ScienceDaily (Aug. 7, 2009) — New research helps explain why infection with herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), which causes genital herpes, increases the risk for HIV infection even after successful treatment heals the genital skin sores and breaks that often result from HSV-2.

Scientists have uncovered details of an immune-cell environment conducive to HIV infection that persists at the location of HSV-2 genital skin lesions long after they have been treated with oral doses of the drug acyclovir and have healed and the skin appears normal. These findings are published in the advance online edition of Nature Medicine on Aug. 2.

Led by Lawrence Corey, M.D., and Jia Zhu, Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Anna Wald, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Washington, both in Seattle, the study was funded mainly by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) with support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, both part of the National Institutes of Health.

"The findings of this study mark an important step toward understanding why HSV-2 infection increases the risk of acquiring HIV and why acyclovir treatment does not reduce that risk," says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "Understanding that even treated HSV-2 infections provide a cellular environment conducive to HIV infection suggests new directions for HIV prevention research, including more powerful anti-HSV therapies and ideally an HSV-2 vaccine."

One of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide, HSV-2 is associated with a two- to three-fold increased risk for HIV infection. Some HSV-2-infected people have recurring sores and breaks in genital skin, and it has been hypothesized that these lesions account for the higher risk of HIV acquisition. However, recent clinical trials, including an NIAID-funded study completed last year, demonstrated that successful treatment of such genital herpes lesions with the drug acyclovir does not reduce the risk of HIV infection posed by HSV-2 . The current study sought to understand why this is so and to test an alternative theory.

"We hypothesized that sores and breaks in the skin from HSV-2 are associated with a long-lasting immune response at those locations, and that the response consists of an influx of cells that are a perfect storm for HIV infection," says Dr. Corey, co-director of the Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Institute at The Hutchinson Center and head of the Virology Division in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Washington. "We believe HIV gains access to these cells mainly through microscopic breaks in the skin that occur during sex."

The research team took biopsies of genital skin tissue from eight HIV-negative men and women who were infected with HSV-2. These biopsies were taken at multiple time points: when the patients had genital herpes sores and breaks in the skin, when these lesions had healed, and at two, four and eight weeks after healing. The researchers also took biopsies from four of the patients when herpes lesions reappeared and the patients underwent treatment with oral acyclovir. The scientists continued to take biopsies at regular intervals for 20 weeks after the lesions had healed. For comparison, the investigators also took biopsies from genital tissue that did not have herpes lesions from the same patients.

Previous research has demonstrated that immune cells involved in the body's response to infection remain at the site of genital herpes lesions even after they have healed. The scientists conducting the current study made several important findings about the nature of these immune cells. First, they found that CD4+ T cells—the cells that HIV primarily infects—populate tissue at the sites of healed genital HSV-2 lesions at concentrations 2 to 37 times greater than in unaffected genital skin. Treatment with acyclovir did not reduce this long-lasting, high concentration of HSV-2-specific CD4+ T cells at the sites of healed herpes lesions.

Second, the scientists discovered that a significant proportion of these CD4+ T cells carried CCR5 or CXCR4, the cell-surface proteins that HIV uses (in addition to CD4) to enter cells. The percentage of CD4+ T cells expressing CCR5 during acute HSV-2 infection and after healing of genital sores was twice as high in biopsies from the sites of these sores as from unaffected control skin. Moreover, the level of CCR5 expression in CD4+ T cells at the sites of healed genital herpes lesions was similar for patients who had been treated with acyclovir as for those who had not.

Third, the scientists found a significantly higher concentration of immune cells called dendritic cells with the surface protein called DC-SIGN at the sites of healed genital herpes lesions than in control tissue, whether or not the patient was treated with acyclovir. Dendritic cells with DC-SIGN ferry HIV particles to CD4+ T cells, which the virus infects. The DC-SIGN cells often were near CD4+ T cells at the sites of healed lesions—an ideal scenario for the rapid spread of HIV infection.

Finally, using biopsies from two study participants, the scientists found laboratory evidence that HIV replicates three to five times as quickly in cultured tissue from the sites of healed HSV-2 lesions than in cultured tissue from control sites.

All four of these findings help explain why people infected with HSV-2 are at greater risk of acquiring HIV than people who are not infected with HSV-2, even after successful acyclovir treatment of genital lesions.

"HSV-2 infection provides a wide surface area and long duration of time for allowing HIV access to more target cells, providing a greater chance for the initial 'spark' of infection," the authors write. This spark likely ignites once HIV penetrates tiny breaks in genital skin that commonly occur during sex. "Additionally," the authors continue, "the close proximity to DC-SIGN-expressing DCs [dendritic cells] is likely to fuel these embers and provide a mechanism for more efficient localized spread of initial infection." The investigators conclude that reducing the HSV-2-associated risk of HIV infection will require diminishing or eliminating the long-lived immune-cell environment created by HSV-2 infection in the genital tract, ideally through an HSV vaccine. Further, they hypothesize that other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) may create similar cellular environments conducive to HIV infection, explaining why STIs in general are a risk factor for acquiring HIV.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal References:

J Zhu et al. Persistence of HIV-1 receptor-positive cells after HSV-2 reactivation is a potential mechanism for increased HIV-1 acquisition. Nature Medicine, DOI: 10.1038/nm2006 (2009)Celum et al. Effect of aciclovir on HIV-1 acquisition in herpes simplex virus 2 seropositive women and men who have sex with men: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet, 2008; 371 (9630): 2109 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60920-4

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Circumcision Ritual Under Fire Due to Risk of Herpes Infection

NEW YORK -- A controversial Jewish circumcision ritual is under fire after allegedly causing the deaths of two infants and exposing potentially thousands more to the risk of herpes infections.

New York City health officials are pushing a proposed regulation that would require parents to sign a consent waiver before they take part in a circumcision ritual called "metzitzah b'peh," typically practiced by ultra-Orthodox Jews. The ritual potentially poses a fatal risk to newborns, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The legislation was proposed at a Board of Health meeting last month by Dr. Jay K. Varma, deputy commissioner for disease control for New York City's health department, after 11 infants contracted neonatal herpes between November 2000 and December 2011, after the circumcision ritual. Two of the infants died.

Jews regularly practice circumcision as part of their religion, but mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews practice metzitzah b'peh, during which the mohel, or person performing the procedure, orally sucks the blood from the infant's newly circumcised penis.

The numbers reported came to light as the city's health department launched an investigation after the infant deaths were reported in New York, the most recent in September in Brooklyn.

The health department reported last month that an estimated 20,493 infants in New York City were exposed to direct oral suction. Baby boys who were reportedly circumcised "with confirmed or probable orogenital suction" between April 2006 and December 2011 had an estimated risk of contracting neonatal herpes (HSV-1) infection of 24.4 per 100,000 cases, making the risk 3.4 times greater than those infants who did not have direct oral suction, according to the health department findings.

In a statement advising New York parents to refrain from direct oral-genital suction during circumcision, New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said, "There is no safe way to perform oral suction on any open wound in a newborn.

"Parents considering ritual circumcision need to know that circumcision should only be performed under sterile conditions, like any other procedures that create open cuts, whether by mohelim or medical professionals."

Reports of infant herpes infections and deaths are not new.

In November of 2004, the Department of Health reported that twin male infants contracted neonatal herpes after the ritual circumcision, one of whom died.

Spokesman Jerry Schmetter of the Brooklyn Defense Attorney's office said a criminal investigation regarding a rabbi who was linked to infant herpes cases, was "still ongoing."

In the case of the Brooklyn infant's death in September, the parents of the baby refused to tell authorities who performed the ritual.

The United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg in Brooklyn could not be reached for comment.

Jeffrey Mazlin, a certified mohel and physician in New York who regularly practices circumcision procedures, said "only the more orthodox, the more traditional mohels" perform the metzitzah b'peh.

"[Orthodox Jews] look at it in terms of religion being more important than the individual, whereas someone who is more liberal will make sure that the individual's rights are taken care of," he said.

But the ritual is not just an upholding of a Jewish tradition, but also a firm reminder of their beliefs.

"Because blood is the life-giving element, they believe that it's supposed to be part of the whole procedure," Mazlin said.

The little blood that is drawn from the newly circumcised penis is usually left alone or wiped away under regular procedures, he said.

"There are no known medical benefits to sucking [the blood]." he said.

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Ritual in Some Jewish Circumcisions Raises Risk of Herpes Infection: Report

THURSDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) -- The practice of "oral-genital suction" performed during some Orthodox Jewish circumcision ceremonies could leave the infant with a potentially fatal herpes virus infection, health officials warn.

New York City and federal health authorities issued a public advisory Thursday cautioning against the sucking practice because it has been linked to 11 infants becoming infected with the herpes simplex virus type 1 since 2000. Ten of the infected newborns were hospitalized, two developed brain damage and two died, the health officials said.

A newborn can become infected when the adult performing the circumcision places his mouth on the circumcision wound to siphon blood away from the cut. The ritual is only embraced by a handful of sects within the Orthodox Jewish community, according to New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley.

"There is no safe way to perform oral suction on any open wound in a newborn," Farley said in a news release. "Parents considering ritual Jewish circumcision need to know that circumcision should only be performed under sterile conditions, like any other procedures that create open cuts, whether by mohelim [the circumciser] or medical professionals."

A report on the infections also appears in the June 8 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Almost 80 percent of adults carry the herpes simplex virus type 1, which is usually spread orally through common activities and is different from the sexually transmitted type 2 version of the virus. The common cold sore is a typical sign of infection with the herpes simplex virus type 1, but most people don't know they are infected because they have no history of symptoms, officials said.

In six of the 11 circumcision cases, health care providers confirmed that the suction ritual had taken place, although there was evidence of a connection in the other five cases. The ritual more than tripled the risk of infection among newborns getting circumcised, the CDC report stated.

New York's deputy health commissioner, Dr. Jay Varma, said: "The [New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene] has been concerned about this problem for some time. And so we are taking the approach right now to try and educate parents and the community about the dangers of this very specific procedure.

"The infections we're talking about are not the ones people normally associate with sexual type interaction," he added. "Many actually acquire herpes type 1 when they are children, because it can be gotten through very casual contact. This causes what people commonly call cold sores in the mouth.

"We're not implying in any way that these mohel [circumcisers] have done anything untoward in a sexual context," Varma said. "The point is that regardless if you're a mohel or someone else, having direct contact with the mouth and an open wound is a hazard."

To highlight the risks involved, Varma cited an incident in 2004 when twin boys were diagnosed with herpes following oral-genital suction during circumcision. About two weeks later, both babies developed fevers and lesions around their genitals, buttocks and abdomen. One of boys later died.

The boys' mother and hospital staffers were ruled out as a possible source of infection.

Dr. Philip Tierno, director of clinical microbiology and pathology at New York University Medical Center, said the sucking practice is a "bad idea."

"There are about 500 different microorganisms in the human mouth," he said. "So, I think it's insanity. It's not only unhygienic, but it can potentially kill the child. So, for the protection of children this is a practice that should be discontinued."

More information

For more on herpes, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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Immune Cells In Skin Fight Off Infection Better Than The Rest

ScienceDaily (Apr. 7, 2009) — Scientists at the University of Melbourne have discovered the local action of immune cells in the skin, which could improve treatment of viral skin infections.

This work identifies previously unrecognised first-line defence mechanisms that are particularly important in barrier locations such as the skin and the gut, often used as portals of entry by viruses and bacteria.

Researchers examined two aspects of anti-viral immune responses by studying the cells involved in the initial stimulation of the immune response, and the cells that remember past infections to boost the response after reinfection. They did this by using a model infection with herpes simplex virus - a virus best known for causing cold sores but also associated with life threatening diseases in certain individuals and newborns.

The work was published in two articles in the advanced online March and April editions of the journal Nature Immunology.

The April article details findings on the function of the cells that trigger the initial immune response to viral infection - known as dendritic cells.

“Dendritic cells are like police patrolling our blood and tissues for anything unusual. There are many different types of them, so we wanted to examine how they differ in their function,” said Dr Sammy Bedoui, from the University of Melbourne’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, who is the lead author on the April paper.

Using an animal model of skin infection with the cold sore virus, researchers showed for the first time that a particular type of dendritic cells was responsible for triggering the immune response. These cells do this by presenting virus particles to Killer T cells, which triggers a cascade of immune responses to tackle infection.

The results could not only provide help in the treatment of viral skin infections, but also of auto-immune diseases of the skin such as psoriasis, where dendritic cells trigger the immune system to attack the body's own cells.

The March paper focuses on the stage after infection has subsided, where some cells retain the ability to recognize the shape of the virus or bacteria - understandably called memory T cells.

Again using the animal model of infection with the cold sore virus, researchers found that memory T cells in the skin provide local immunity against pathogens.

“Because the cells are located at the site of infection, they can respond instantly, much faster than other immune cells that have to travel via the blood to the site,” said Dr Thomas Gebhardt from the University of Melbourne’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, who is the lead author on the March paper.

“This debunks previous thought that immunity by T cells only occurs at longer distances throughout the body.”

Skin-resident memory T cells provide efficient and long-lasting immunity against skin reinfection with the same virus, resulting in better antiviral protection in skin areas harbouring elevated numbers of these cells.

It is proposed that the generation of large numbers of resident memory cells in these organs represents an important goal for future vaccination strategies.

“Vaccines are of interest because we want to prevent the infection taking hold in the first place,” said Dr Gebhardt.

“This is especially important with the cold sore virus because while the immune response is developing against the initial infection, the virus can hide away in our nerve cells. The virus then remains dormant until the immune system is weakened by stress and the dreaded cold sore returns.”

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Male Circumcision Reduces Risk Of Genital Herpes And HPV Infection, But Not Syphilis

ScienceDaily (Mar. 25, 2009) — Heterosexual men who undergo medical circumcision can significantly reduce their risk of acquiring two common sexually transmitted infections--herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), the cause of genital herpes, and human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cancer and genital warts, according to a report in the March 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). In the study, circumcision had no effect on their risk of becoming infected with the bacterium that causes syphilis, however.

that causes syphilis, however.

The findings build upon earlier clinical research funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), part of the NIH, which found that circumcision decreases a man's risk of acquiring HIV infection through heterosexual intercourse by more than 50 percent.

"Medically supervised adult male circumcision is a scientifically proven method for reducing a man's risk of acquiring HIV infection through heterosexual intercourse," says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "This new research provides compelling evidence that circumcision can provide some protection against genital herpes and human papillomavirus infections as well."

The study was conducted by scientists at the Rakai Health Sciences Program in Uganda in collaboration with researchers at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and NIAID's Division of Intramural Research. The collaborators examined samples from two parallel clinical trials in Rakai that successfully proved male circumcision as an HIV prevention method and also assessed the surgical procedure's ability to prevent other sexually transmitted infections, including syphilis and HSV-2. These infections cause genital ulcers and are associated with an increased risk of HIV acquisition. The research team also assessed circumcision's effect on HPV infections, which can cause anal, cervical and penile cancers and genital warts.

The two trials, one funded by NIAID and the other by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, enrolled 3,393 uncircumcised men between the ages of 15 and 49 who initially tested negative for both HIV and HSV-2. The men were assigned at random to one of two study groups: 1,684 received immediate circumcision performed by trained medical professionals in an outpatient setting (intervention group); and 1,709 received medical circumcision after a delay of 24 months (control group). The researchers evaluated the volunteers at six, 12 and 24 months for HSV-2 and syphilis infection. Additionally, a subgroup of 697 volunteers (352 participants in the intervention group; 345 in the control group) was evaluated for HPV infection at enrollment and at 24 months.

In analyzing the effect of circumcision on HSV-2 acquisition across both studies, the researchers found that the cumulative probability of HSV-2 infection was significantly lower among those volunteers who received immediate circumcision (7.8 percent) than among those in the control group who were circumcised at 24 months (10.3 percent). Overall, the researchers found that medically supervised circumcision reduced the men's risk of HSV-2 infection by 28 percent.

The combined results from both trials also demonstrated a 35 percent reduction in HPV prevalence among men in the intervention group. In evaluating a subgroup of volunteers at 24 months, high-risk HPV strains associated with certain cancers were detected in 42 of 233 men in the intervention group and in 80 of 287 men in the control group.

Circumcision did not, however, affect the incidence of syphilis. At 24 months, syphilis was detected in 50 men in the intervention group and 45 members of the control group.

"The cumulative scientific evidence supporting the public health value of medically supervised male circumcision is now overwhelming," says Thomas C. Quinn, M.D., study co-investigator, chief of the International HIV/STD Section in NIAID's Laboratory of Immunoregulation and co-author of the study. "This new research confirms the substantial health benefits of male circumcision, including reduced acquisition of HIV, genital herpes, HPV and genital ulcer disease."

Dr. David Serwadda, co-principal investigator and dean of Makerere University's School of Public Health, adds that "these findings have significant public health implications for the control of HIV, genital herpes and HPV in areas of high prevalence, such as Africa, and further suggest that efforts to scale-up male circumcision could have tremendous benefit."

"The next focus of our research will be to analyze additional data collected in the Rakai trials to assess the degree to which male circumcision may reduce transmission of HPV to female sexual partners," says Johns Hopkins professor Ronald H. Gray, M.D., co-principal investigator. "This would be of substantial significance because HPV causes cervical cancer."

The biological reasons why circumcision may reduce the risk of HSV-2 and HPV infection, but not syphilis, are not entirely known. HSV-2 and HPV multiply in epithelial cells found in the surface skin of the penis, and the foreskin may facilitate virus entry into those cells. Once circumcision has been performed, the risk of epithelial infection may be reduced, the authors note. Additionally, the analysis used to determine the effects of circumcision on syphilis had limited statistical power, and therefore, it is difficult to draw a firm conclusion as to whether or not circumcision may reduce syphilis incidence, the researchers add.

During each clinic visit, volunteers were given physical examinations, counseled on safe sex practices and offered condoms, voluntary HIV counseling and testing. Study staff also interviewed each volunteer to record sociodemographic characteristics and rates of specific sexual risk behaviors. Volunteers who acquired HIV infection during the two clinical trials were referred to Rakai Health Science Program clinics for HIV care funded by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Volunteers who acquired genital ulcers or syphilis were also provided with appropriate medical care and treatment.

As with most strategies to prevent sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, adult male circumcision is not completely effective. Therefore, the authors note, safe sex practices, including consistent condom use, are still necessary to provide the best protection against such infections.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Tobian, Aaron A.R., Serwadda, David, Quinn, Thomas C., Kigozi, Godfrey, Gravitt, Patti E., Laeyendecker, Oliver, Charvat, Blake, Ssempijja, Victor, Riedesel, Melissa, Oliver, Amy E., Nowak, Rebecca G., Moulton, Lawrence H., Chen, Michael Z., Reynolds, Steven J., Wawer, Maria J., Gray, Ronald H. Male Circumcision for the Prevention of HSV-2 and HPV Infections and Syphilis. New England Journal of Medicine, 2009; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa0802556

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

Why Even Treated Genital Herpes Sores Boost The Risk Of HIV Infection

ScienceDaily (Aug. 2, 2009) — New research helps explain why infection with herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), which causes genital herpes, increases the risk for HIV infection even after successful treatment heals the genital skin sores and breaks that often result from HSV-2.

Scientists have uncovered details of an immune-cell environment conducive to HIV infection that persists at the location of HSV-2 genital skin lesions long after they have been treated with oral doses of the drug acyclovir and have healed and the skin appears normal. These findings are published in the advance online edition of Nature Medicine on Aug. 2.

Led by Lawrence Corey, M.D., and Jia Zhu, Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Anna Wald, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Washington, both in Seattle, the study was funded mainly by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) with support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, both part of the National Institutes of Health.

"The findings of this study mark an important step toward understanding why HSV-2 infection increases the risk of acquiring HIV and why acyclovir treatment does not reduce that risk," says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "Understanding that even treated HSV-2 infections provide a cellular environment conducive to HIV infection suggests new directions for HIV prevention research, including more powerful anti-HSV therapies and ideally an HSV-2 vaccine."

One of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide, HSV-2 is associated with a two- to three-fold increased risk for HIV infection. Some HSV-2-infected people have recurring sores and breaks in genital skin, and it has been hypothesized that these lesions account for the higher risk of HIV acquisition. However, recent clinical trials, including an NIAID-funded study completed last year, demonstrated that successful treatment of such genital herpes lesions with the drug acyclovir does not reduce the risk of HIV infection posed by HSV-2 . The current study sought to understand why this is so and to test an alternative theory.

"We hypothesized that sores and breaks in the skin from HSV-2 are associated with a long-lasting immune response at those locations, and that the response consists of an influx of cells that are a perfect storm for HIV infection," says Dr. Corey, co-director of the Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Institute at The Hutchinson Center and head of the Virology Division in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Washington. "We believe HIV gains access to these cells mainly through microscopic breaks in the skin that occur during sex."

The research team took biopsies of genital skin tissue from eight HIV-negative men and women who were infected with HSV-2. These biopsies were taken at multiple time points: when the patients had genital herpes sores and breaks in the skin, when these lesions had healed, and at two, four and eight weeks after healing. The researchers also took biopsies from four of the patients when herpes lesions reappeared and the patients underwent treatment with oral acyclovir. The scientists continued to take biopsies at regular intervals for 20 weeks after the lesions had healed. For comparison, the investigators also took biopsies from genital tissue that did not have herpes lesions from the same patients.

Previous research has demonstrated that immune cells involved in the body's response to infection remain at the site of genital herpes lesions even after they have healed. The scientists conducting the current study made several important findings about the nature of these immune cells. First, they found that CD4+ T cells—the cells that HIV primarily infects—populate tissue at the sites of healed genital HSV-2 lesions at concentrations 2 to 37 times greater than in unaffected genital skin. Treatment with acyclovir did not reduce this long-lasting, high concentration of HSV-2-specific CD4+ T cells at the sites of healed herpes lesions.

Second, the scientists discovered that a significant proportion of these CD4+ T cells carried CCR5 or CXCR4, the cell-surface proteins that HIV uses (in addition to CD4) to enter cells. The percentage of CD4+ T cells expressing CCR5 during acute HSV-2 infection and after healing of genital sores was twice as high in biopsies from the sites of these sores as from unaffected control skin. Moreover, the level of CCR5 expression in CD4+ T cells at the sites of healed genital herpes lesions was similar for patients who had been treated with acyclovir as for those who had not.

Third, the scientists found a significantly higher concentration of immune cells called dendritic cells with the surface protein called DC-SIGN at the sites of healed genital herpes lesions than in control tissue, whether or not the patient was treated with acyclovir. Dendritic cells with DC-SIGN ferry HIV particles to CD4+ T cells, which the virus infects. The DC-SIGN cells often were near CD4+ T cells at the sites of healed lesions—an ideal scenario for the rapid spread of HIV infection.

Finally, using biopsies from two study participants, the scientists found laboratory evidence that HIV replicates three to five times as quickly in cultured tissue from the sites of healed HSV-2 lesions than in cultured tissue from control sites.

All four of these findings help explain why people infected with HSV-2 are at greater risk of acquiring HIV than people who are not infected with HSV-2, even after successful acyclovir treatment of genital lesions.

"HSV-2 infection provides a wide surface area and long duration of time for allowing HIV access to more target cells, providing a greater chance for the initial 'spark' of infection," the authors write. This spark likely ignites once HIV penetrates tiny breaks in genital skin that commonly occur during sex. "Additionally," the authors continue, "the close proximity to DC-SIGN-expressing DCs [dendritic cells] is likely to fuel these embers and provide a mechanism for more efficient localized spread of initial infection." The investigators conclude that reducing the HSV-2-associated risk of HIV infection will require diminishing or eliminating the long-lived immune-cell environment created by HSV-2 infection in the genital tract, ideally through an HSV vaccine. Further, they hypothesize that other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) may create similar cellular environments conducive to HIV infection, explaining why STIs in general are a risk factor for acquiring HIV.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal References:

J Zhu et al. Persistence of HIV-1 receptor-positive cells after HSV-2 reactivation is a potential mechanism for increased HIV-1 acquisition. Nature Medicine, DOI: 10.1038/nm2006 (2009)Celum et al. Effect of aciclovir on HIV-1 acquisition in herpes simplex virus 2 seropositive women and men who have sex with men: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet, 2008; 371 (9630): 2109 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60920-4

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

Dr. Paul Donohue: Genital herpes infection carries a lifelong impact

Last Updated: November 28. 2011 1:00AM

Dear Dr. Donohue: Please, sir, this is my second letter. Give me all the information possible about herpes. I am a carrier.

Dear D.N.: I take it you're interested in genital herpes — herpes simplex virus-2, HSV-2. The first encounter with the virus leads to an outbreak of tiny, painful blisters on red patches on the genital skin. Fever, headache, muscle pain and pain on urination often are also experienced with a first outbreak. Recurrent attacks are not as severe.

Fever, headache and muscle pain do not accompany subsequent outbreaks, but the skin signs are painful. The first year of infection is a year of more-frequent outbreaks. After that, they come less often. If a person is subject to many outbreaks, that person can suppress them by taking Zovirax, Famvir or Valtrex at the first inklings that an outbreak is about to take place.

For recurrence after recurrence, a person can go on daily doses of these medicines to keep outbreaks in check.

Once infected, a person stays infected for life. That person is a carrier.

Transmission is a huge problem. Even when a person has no signs of an outbreak, he or she can pass the virus to a partner. Therefore, all sexual partners should be told about the infection. Condoms, while not 100 percent protective, afford a major degree of safety. When a visible outbreak takes place, the infected person ought not to engage in sexual contact.

You are not alone. The herpes-2 virus infects up to 20 percent of the adult population of North America. Bad as it is, it is not the end of life or the end of a sex life.

Write to Dr. Donohue at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.

Subscribe to Detroit News home delivery and receive a SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER.

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A Primary Infection of Genital Herpes

A true primary infection of genital herpes can only be experienced by a person who has never previously been exposed to any herpes simplex virus. Before infection there is no history of cold sores, no history of exposure to cold sores and no immunity to herpes has been developed.

The absence of specific immunity is crucial because it allows for easier infection. The body, in its first defence against its first attack be herpes makes antibodies that can neutralize the herpes quite effectively. Also immune cells of the body learn how to target and destroy the virus. As a result, once specific immune cells and antibodies are present, herpes infections are usually much milder.

The first infection is called a primary infection if no antibody to either type 1 or type 2 herpes simplex virus is present. It is only possible to know for sure that a person does not have such antibodies by performing a special blood test. Many people with antibodies to either type 1 or type 2 herpes simplex virus have no recollection of cold sores, genital herpes or any other symptom related to herpes.

During a true primary infection, the virus can be inoculated, or transferred, to surrounding areas of the skin. Infection may be much more severe because no immunity specific to herpes is yet present. More sores will usually develop during a true primary, especially in women. The person may feel generally sick usually with flu-like illness much like nay other viral infection.

Primary infection causes a spectrum of disease symptoms however and for many people primary infection will pass entirely unnoticed or will cause symptoms or signs that can easily be misdiagnosed. A woman may only find out that she is the midst of a primary infection when a routine smear test result shows active cervical herpes. So, it is vital that any suspicion of herpes is diagnosed accurately by way of a specific blood test.

Don't be alone with herpes. There are some good online herpes dating sites where you can meet people just like you. Why not visit Positive Singles where you can join for free and begin to live your life to the full again.

A Recurrent Infection of Genital Herpes

People with a recurrent infection of genial herpes are often troubled very little by physical ailments during recurrences. There are usually just a few sores.

The sores may be single or multiple, tend to come in clusters, often grouped together on a small, reddened, inflamed base of skin. Recurrences of herpes go through a series of relatively predictable stages. Unlike a primary infection, the recurrent herpes sequence takes just a few days from start to finish with an average of six days for men and five days for women.

Compared with a primary infection, recurrent lesions have less virus in them and are much less uncomfortable. Itchiness is very common and whilst recurrent sores are tender to touch they may not hurt a great deal if left alone. If, however, the sores are in a place where they are touched by urine or rubbed, pain may be more prominent.

As with primary herpes, the symptoms of recurrent herpes depend on the area affected. Generally, one small area is affected during recurrence, Some people find that each recurrence is at precisely the same site while in others the site varies slightly each time. A sore may hurt when it occurs at one site but merely itch at another.

Active herpes may be obvious when it comes in clusters of little blisters but genital herpes may never be more severe than one very small sore on the labia or foreskin, around the anus or on the thigh.

Herpes is variable and you should get to know your herpes and anything else that is unusual on your genitals. You need to know if you are having an outbreak, particularly if you are planning to have sex. People commonly confuse herpes with other things, especially before they get to know their herpes and you should not make the same mistake.

Don't be alone with herpes. There are some good online herpes dating sites where you can meet people just like you. Why not visit Positive Singles where you can join for free and begin to live your life to the full again.

Herpes infection led to toe pain

Q. Recently, my left big toe swelled up, formed something like small blisters and itched and burned. I knew this wasn't normal, so I went to the doctor.

The physician's assistant diagnosed the problem as "herpetic whitlow." She prescribed acyclovir to speed recovery. I couldn't afford it, and when I learned it wouldn't cure the problem, I went without. I took diphenhydramine to help me sleep through the itch. It seemed to reduce the swelling a bit as well.

What can you tell me about herpetic whitlow?

A. Most people have seen cold sores and fever blisters on or near the mouth, caused by herpes simplex virus. The herpes virus also can get into small cuts or abrasions on the fingers or toes and cause painful swelling, blisters and itching. The medical term for this type of sore is "herpetic whitlow."

Acyclovir or other anti-herpes drugs such as valacyclovir or famciclovir can help ease symptoms of whitlow, but they should go away on their own.

Here is a more complete discussion of this skin condition. 

Q. I have read that many people don't take their prescribed medications because of concern about costs. Please tell your readers that anyone who can't afford the prescription should talk to the pharmacist about an alternative. I have heard of people saving money through generics, an older drug to treat the same problem or medicine from a compounding pharmacy.

A. While generic drugs can save lots of money, some people find they do not always work the same as their brand-name counterparts. In our Guide to Saving Money on Medicine, we describe strategies for using generic drugs wisely and give 10 tips for economizing in the pharmacy. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (64 cents), self-addressed envelope to:

Graedons' People's Pharmacy

No. CA-99, P.O. Box 52027

Durham, NC 27717-2027

It also can be downloaded for $2 at peoplespharmacy.com.

PeoplesPharmacy.com

View the original article here

The Ethics Of A Life-Long Herpes Infection

From day one my own personal life-long herpes infection has presented me with several ethical challenges. It has challenged me on the question of who to tell and when. It has challenged me on the issue of what to say and how to others with herpes. It has challenged me on the question of "Do I have any responsibilities towards trying to prevent the people in the community who do not herpes from getting it, and if so what are they"?

On how to tell and when:

When I was diagnosed with herpes the doctors told me that it was safe to have sex with others as long as I avoided having sex during outbreaks and that I would get warning signs of when an outbreak would be coming. Luckily, we are working with much better information these days. A person with herpes is potentially contagious every-single day of the year and safer sex including using a combination of a condom or dental dam and an anti-viral gel is the best way of ensuring that one isn't inadvertently spreading the virus.

I was an irresponsible coward when I first got herpes. Because thedoctors told me that I wasn't contagious without outbreaks and because I was in the habit of using condoms, I decided that I only had to tell someone that I had herpes if and when it seemed like the relationship was turning serious and there would be regular sexual contact. I had justified my cowardice by thinking that the risk to others was too small to stick my neck out and get the rejection due to a herpes leper. Please don't be like me. Not telling someone before you have sex that you have herpes is absolutely the wrong thing to do. There's no real way to justify it. I now tell potential lovers I have herpes even before the first date. It gets the weight of this guilt most herpes people have off my chest and to me it feels like the right thing to do.

Many people tell me that it's okay if you're not going to have sex with someone to wait and see if the relationship becomes serious before telling them about herpes. Sure this is much better than waiting until after sex, but to me it still isn't good enough. If you care about someone, if you respect them , why not tell them as early as possible so they can decide if they want to invest the energy and time in getting to know you better? Isn't it a bit manipulative to allow someone to develop feelings for you without warning them that they risk a life-long viral infection if they get involved with you? Think about it. If you wait until they are already emotionally attached to you, they may feel compelled to continue with the relationship when they may not have if you had told them up-front. It takes more courage and integrity to tell early but it feels better to have the weight off your chest and the person you tell will usually respect you for giving them the choice.

I am especially appealing to men since I believe that men are not as protective of their sex partners when it comes to telling about herpes as women are. Guys, please don't have sex with anyone without telling them about your herpes. And if they don't know the facts don't understate the risks- herpes is a more physically and emotionally devastating disease for women than it is for men and it is much easier for a man to give a woman herpes than it is for a woman to give it to a man.

On how and what to say to others with herpes:

I am a holistic healer- a herbalist and homeopath. My family have been healers for many generations in my native country of Trinidad and Tobago and as far back as Africa. I had little to no interest in treating herpes as a healer until I got herpes myself. Wanting to change a negative to a positive, I decided to make the holistic treatment of herpes the cornerstone of my practice. The bible says "the stone that the builder refused, I will make my cornerstone. Bob Marley and the wailers sing about it too.

It didn't take me long once I decided to become a holistic viral specialist to realize that I was confronted with a daunting challenge. Most professionals including all the herbalists and homeopaths I know rely heavily on referrals to build their client-base. Here I was now working with a client-base that I was never going to get a lot of referrals from. My patients with herpes don't go around telling the world that I helped them with their outbreaks. Some of my patients have yet to tell their significant others that they have herpes, many have not told their closest friends and their family. I am not a company. I don't have an advertising budget. The only way for me to reach out to others with herpes and encourage them to come for me for treatment was to speak out in public about my herpes work and about herpes in general. This forced me to be far more out of the closet than would have been my personal choice.

I seem to always create challenging situations for myself. Speaking to others with herpes is not a task for the faint of heart. Some people like to shoot the messenger- I have the bullet-wounds to prove it. But I can say that speaking to others with herpes has been and continues to be one of the most gratifying experiences in my life. I feel a deep bond with many of the people with herpes who interact with me. I felt this kind of bond when I played team sports. I've felt this kind of bond all my life with other black people. There's something about "us against the world" that can make people tight with other. I love my herpes friends. I love my herpes patients- even the ones who misbehave. I am not grateful for getting herpes, but I don't regret it either. Nevertheless, the truth hurts, and I have some bitter truth to tell others with herpes:

Having a lover who also has herpes isn't a free ticket for unprotected sex. Even if you both have the same strain Even if one gave it to the other. Having unprotected sex with each other can and often will make one or both partner's cases of herpes worse. It's called re-inoculation and it's a message many with herpes don't want to hear.

If you have herpes or cold sores you are potentially contagious everyday and there is no sure way to tell if you are shedding virus. So do consider using a condom/dental dam combined with an anti-viral gel when having sex and do be careful about sharing wet towels or wash cloths with others.

No two people get herpes the same way so you are going to have your own individual experience with the virus and will have to find your own way of dealing with it on all the different levels you will have to deal with it.

A cure for herpes in our lifetime is unlikely and there are no quick-fix solutions for managing herpes. Herpes cannot be managed with a topical agent alone- whether it be creams, lotions, or essential oils. Managing herpes takes changing your diet, managing stress and other triggers, and may also require either taking herbal medicine or drug therapy.

You may not get fewer outbreaks as you get older. While this is often the case, since no two people get herpes the same way, other diseases, menopause, self-abuse, re-inoculation by unprotected sex and other factors can change the pattern of frequency and severity of outbreaks at any point during your life-long journey with herpes.

Cold-sores are just as contagious if not more contagious than genital herpes and you can infect others when there are no signs of sores present.

Having herpes does make you more vulnerable to other sexually transmitted infections including HIV, cervical dysplasia and genital warts.

Daily use of l-lysine is an ineffective strategy for treating herpes and can do more harm than good. There are more effective natural remedies such as garlic for treating herpes without side-effects.

On talking to those who don't have herpes:

The reality check for me is that the mainstream and alternative media do not want talk about herpes. They would prefer to keep us in a ghetto. There is a lot of misinformation floating around and people without herpes have few places to turn to hear the facts about herpes. They don't hear the facts in their churches, young people are not being educated enough about herpes in school. Most parents aren't teaching their children about herpes, older siblings are not passing information down to the younger ones.

It's really up to us who have herpes to try harder to dialogue with those who don't. HIV won't be the last word in human population control from the world of viruses. If we don't learn how to better protect the population from getting herpes and other sexually transmitted infections we are going to be in a lot of trouble. Herpes is a gateway disease it provided easy access through your mucus membranes for any sexually transmitted virus.

It is my unshakeable conviction that those of us in the herpes community need to be more vocal in the media and to also reach out to those around us. Each one teach one. Each one reach one.

Christopher Scipio

Holistic Herpes Treatment Specialist

The Ethics Of A Life-Long Herpes Infection

From day one my own personal life-long herpes infection has presented me with several ethical challenges. It has challenged me on the question of who to tell and when. It has challenged me on the issue of what to say and how to others with herpes. It has challenged me on the question of "Do I have any responsibilities towards trying to prevent the people in the community who do not herpes from getting it, and if so what are they"?

On how to tell and when:

When I was diagnosed with herpes the doctors told me that it was safe to have sex with others as long as I avoided having sex during outbreaks and that I would get warning signs of when an outbreak would be coming. Luckily, we are working with much better information these days. A person with herpes is potentially contagious every-single day of the year and safer sex including using a combination of a condom or dental dam and an anti-viral gel is the best way of ensuring that one isn't inadvertently spreading the virus.

I was an irresponsible coward when I first got herpes. Because thedoctors told me that I wasn't contagious without outbreaks and because I was in the habit of using condoms, I decided that I only had to tell someone that I had herpes if and when it seemed like the relationship was turning serious and there would be regular sexual contact. I had justified my cowardice by thinking that the risk to others was too small to stick my neck out and get the rejection due to a herpes leper. Please don't be like me. Not telling someone before you have sex that you have herpes is absolutely the wrong thing to do. There's no real way to justify it. I now tell potential lovers I have herpes even before the first date. It gets the weight of this guilt most herpes people have off my chest and to me it feels like the right thing to do.

Many people tell me that it's okay if you're not going to have sex with someone to wait and see if the relationship becomes serious before telling them about herpes. Sure this is much better than waiting until after sex, but to me it still isn't good enough. If you care about someone, if you respect them , why not tell them as early as possible so they can decide if they want to invest the energy and time in getting to know you better? Isn't it a bit manipulative to allow someone to develop feelings for you without warning them that they risk a life-long viral infection if they get involved with you? Think about it. If you wait until they are already emotionally attached to you, they may feel compelled to continue with the relationship when they may not have if you had told them up-front. It takes more courage and integrity to tell early but it feels better to have the weight off your chest and the person you tell will usually respect you for giving them the choice.

I am especially appealing to men since I believe that men are not as protective of their sex partners when it comes to telling about herpes as women are. Guys, please don't have sex with anyone without telling them about your herpes. And if they don't know the facts don't understate the risks- herpes is a more physically and emotionally devastating disease for women than it is for men and it is much easier for a man to give a woman herpes than it is for a woman to give it to a man.

On how and what to say to others with herpes:

I am a holistic healer- a herbalist and homeopath. My family have been healers for many generations in my native country of Trinidad and Tobago and as far back as Africa. I had little to no interest in treating herpes as a healer until I got herpes myself. Wanting to change a negative to a positive, I decided to make the holistic treatment of herpes the cornerstone of my practice. The bible says "the stone that the builder refused, I will make my cornerstone. Bob Marley and the wailers sing about it too.

It didn't take me long once I decided to become a holistic viral specialist to realize that I was confronted with a daunting challenge. Most professionals including all the herbalists and homeopaths I know rely heavily on referrals to build their client-base. Here I was now working with a client-base that I was never going to get a lot of referrals from. My patients with herpes don't go around telling the world that I helped them with their outbreaks. Some of my patients have yet to tell their significant others that they have herpes, many have not told their closest friends and their family. I am not a company. I don't have an advertising budget. The only way for me to reach out to others with herpes and encourage them to come for me for treatment was to speak out in public about my herpes work and about herpes in general. This forced me to be far more out of the closet than would have been my personal choice.

I seem to always create challenging situations for myself. Speaking to others with herpes is not a task for the faint of heart. Some people like to shoot the messenger- I have the bullet-wounds to prove it. But I can say that speaking to others with herpes has been and continues to be one of the most gratifying experiences in my life. I feel a deep bond with many of the people with herpes who interact with me. I felt this kind of bond when I played team sports. I've felt this kind of bond all my life with other black people. There's something about "us against the world" that can make people tight with other. I love my herpes friends. I love my herpes patients- even the ones who misbehave. I am not grateful for getting herpes, but I don't regret it either. Nevertheless, the truth hurts, and I have some bitter truth to tell others with herpes:

Having a lover who also has herpes isn't a free ticket for unprotected sex. Even if you both have the same strain Even if one gave it to the other. Having unprotected sex with each other can and often will make one or both partner's cases of herpes worse. It's called re-inoculation and it's a message many with herpes don't want to hear.

If you have herpes or cold sores you are potentially contagious everyday and there is no sure way to tell if you are shedding virus. So do consider using a condom/dental dam combined with an anti-viral gel when having sex and do be careful about sharing wet towels or wash cloths with others.

No two people get herpes the same way so you are going to have your own individual experience with the virus and will have to find your own way of dealing with it on all the different levels you will have to deal with it.

A cure for herpes in our lifetime is unlikely and there are no quick-fix solutions for managing herpes. Herpes cannot be managed with a topical agent alone- whether it be creams, lotions, or essential oils. Managing herpes takes changing your diet, managing stress and other triggers, and may also require either taking herbal medicine or drug therapy.

You may not get fewer outbreaks as you get older. While this is often the case, since no two people get herpes the same way, other diseases, menopause, self-abuse, re-inoculation by unprotected sex and other factors can change the pattern of frequency and severity of outbreaks at any point during your life-long journey with herpes.

Cold-sores are just as contagious if not more contagious than genital herpes and you can infect others when there are no signs of sores present.

Having herpes does make you more vulnerable to other sexually transmitted infections including HIV, cervical dysplasia and genital warts.

Daily use of l-lysine is an ineffective strategy for treating herpes and can do more harm than good. There are more effective natural remedies such as garlic for treating herpes without side-effects.

On talking to those who don't have herpes:

The reality check for me is that the mainstream and alternative media do not want talk about herpes. They would prefer to keep us in a ghetto. There is a lot of misinformation floating around and people without herpes have few places to turn to hear the facts about herpes. They don't hear the facts in their churches, young people are not being educated enough about herpes in school. Most parents aren't teaching their children about herpes, older siblings are not passing information down to the younger ones.

It's really up to us who have herpes to try harder to dialogue with those who don't. HIV won't be the last word in human population control from the world of viruses. If we don't learn how to better protect the population from getting herpes and other sexually transmitted infections we are going to be in a lot of trouble. Herpes is a gateway disease it provided easy access through your mucus membranes for any sexually transmitted virus.

It is my unshakeable conviction that those of us in the herpes community need to be more vocal in the media and to also reach out to those around us. Each one teach one. Each one reach one.

Christopher Scipio

Holistic Herpes Treatment Specialist