Two-thirds of people globally can have cold sores

The World Health Organisation gave its first estimate of global prevalence of the disease on Wednesday, and landed on a figure of about 3.7 billion of us (or two-thirds of the world’s population under 50) probably having the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1).

The new estimates also note that the herpes simplex virus type 1 is an important cause of genital herpes. But there’s one thing it fails to clarify: In most cases, herpes is pretty harmless – even though it carries a persistent stigma that it can’t seem to knock. “Most people have outbreaks several times a year”.

That doesn’t mean you should screw STI testing and trash your condom stash.

The herpes simplex virus type 2 (HPV-2), which causes genital herpes, can meanwhile be transmitted through sexual contact with someone who has the virus.

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The World Health Organization noted that both types of herpes virus are “highly infectious and incurable”.

Experts say the numbers in the new report highlight the need for better education regarding how the virus is spread.

World Health Organization estimates that 178 million women and 142 million men under 50 in North and South American are infected with HSV-1. Nearly 417 million people in the 15-49 ages are affected with the type 2 herpes.

WHO said it is now focusing on the development of a worldwide health industry strategy for sexually transmitted microbe infections (STIs), which includes for HSV-1 and HSV-2, and it is set to be completed for consideration at the 69th World Wellness Assembly in 2016. The study concluded that almost 3.7 billion people across the word between the age 15 to 50 are possibly infected with Herpes-simplex 1. When the infections of genital HSV-1 and HSV-2 STD are combined, a whopping 567 million people have a herpes STD.

Experts raised concerns by unveiling that if a person contracts HSV-2 then risk increases for them of catching HIV.

Herpes is a lifelong infection, which often has mild or no symptoms but can be detected by the presence of antibodies for HSV-1 or HSV-2 in the blood. The virus can lead to serious complications such as encephalitis or herpes infections of the eye.