20% of people aged 15 to 49 globally infected with herpes, study shows


As many as 846 million people around the world under age 50 are living with genital herpes, according to a new study published Tuesday that calls for vaccines to tackle the sexually transmitted disease. Photo by NIAID/Wikimedia Commons

Dec. 10 (UPI) -- More than 840 million people around the world under age 50 are living with genital herpes, according to a new study that calls for new vaccines to tackle the sexually transmitted infection.

The peer-reviewed research, published Tuesday in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, estimated that about 1 in 5 people, or 846 million, are infected with genital herpes simplex virus and related diseases, the British Medical Journal said in a news release.

"There are 2 types of herpes simplex virus-type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2)--both of which are highly infectious, incurable and last a lifetime," the release noted.

The release added: "HSV-1 is primarily spread in childhood by mouth contact, resulting in 'cold sores' in or around the mouth. But it can sometimes cause more serious neurological, eye, skin and mucous membrane complications. And it is increasingly being spread through sexual contact at older ages, say the researchers.

"HSV-2 is almost entirely sexually transmitted through skin to skin contact, and is the leading cause of recurrent painful genital blisters. And although rare, both HSV-1 and HSV-2 can be passed onto newborns, often proving fatal."

Researchers used mathematical modeling to estimate the global and regional incidence and prevalence of the infections.

The modeling showed that more than 200 million 15-to-49-year-olds most likely had at least one symptomatic HSV outbreak in 2020, the most recent year for which data is available. Of those, 42 million of them were newly infected.

The research team estimated that, based on the available data, 26 million people aged 15 to 49 globally were newly infected with HSV-2 and 520 million had an existing infection -- a little more than 13% of people in that age range.

The number who suffered at least one episode of genital sores in 2020 was 188 million for those infected with HSV-2, and 17 million for those infected with newly acquired genital HSV-1, primarily "cold sores" around or in the mouth, but which can be transmitted sexually.

Another estimated 376 million 15-to-49-year-olds had an existing HSV-1 infection in 2020, but the researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine, Qatar, Cornell University's Qatar Foundation and Bristol University Medical School found little geographical variation.

They said an urgent need exists to inhibit the spread of HSV and mitigate the health and financial toll of the disease by developing new treatments and vaccines.

"HSV infections are widely prevalent in all global regions, leading to a significant burden of [genital ulcer disease] with repercussions on psychosocial, sexual and reproductive health, neonatal transmission and HIV transmission," they wrote.

"However, hardly any specific programs for HSV prevention and control exist, even in resource-rich countries. There is a need for HSV prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines as a strategic approach to control transmission and to curb the disease and economic burdens of these infections."

The researchers, who employed a series of recent comprehensive systematic reviews and pooled data analyses published up to March 2022, acknowledged a variety of limiting factors.

These included a lack of data for people at either end of the age spectrum and relatively broad ranges across some of their estimates.