Using a condom consistently could help prevent the spread of genital herpes (herpes simplex virus 2 or HSV-2), US researchers say

Use of condoms somewhat reduces risk of genital herpes

Using a condom consistently could help prevent the spread of genital herpes (herpes simplex virus 2 or HSV-2), US researchers say.

In a series of studies involving 5384 people whose average age was 29 and who tested negative for HSV-2, researchers from the Children's Hospital Research Institute and the University of Washington in Seattle analyzed the effectiveness of condom use in preventing the spread of the virus.

The study found that a total of 415 individuals had contracted the virus in the follow-up period.

"Consistent condom users -- 100 percent of the time -- had a 30 percent lower risk of herpes simplex virus 2 acquisition compared with those who never used condoms," the authors wrote. "Risk of herpes simplex virus 2 acquisition decreased by 7 percent for every additional 25 percent of the time that condoms were used during anal or vaginal sex."

Genital herpes is caused by a virus that can enter the body through skin contact and is spread by contact with infected secretions during sexual encounters. According to experts, women are six times more likely than men to get infected per sex act.

The infection causes painful sores in the genital area and while treatment for outbreaks are available, once a person contracts HSV-2, they will carry it for life.

Because symptoms are mild or go unnoticed, approximately one in five people has genital herpes in the United States and does not know it. But new diagnostic tests have been developed that no longer confuse the virus with herpes type 1, which usually causes cold sores.

"Based on findings of this large analysis using all available prospective data, condom use should continue to be recommended to both men and women for reducing the risk of HSV-2 acquisition," the authors concluded.

"Although the magnitude of the protective effect was not as large as has been observed with other STIs (sexually transmitted infections), a 30 percent reduction in HSV-2 incidence can have a substantial benefit for individuals as well as a public health impact at the population level."

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