Herpes is a sexually transmitted disease caused by simplex viruses type 1(HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2). Genital Herpes is mostly caused by Herpes type 2. Herpes type 1 and type 2 all have minimal symptoms that show infection to an individual. One of the signs of the disease is the occurrence of blisters on or around the genital organs. The blisters burst and leave a sore that takes about two to four weeks to heal, when they have occurred for the first time. Another outbreak can appear weeks or months after the first outbreak although this might not be as severe as the first one.
The infection can stay in the body indefinitely but the outbreaks tend to decrease overtime. “Results of a nationally representative study show that genital herpes infections are common in the United States. Nationwide at least 45 million people ages 12 and older or out of five adolescents and adults, have had genital herpes infection,” (CDC,2004) The CDC estimates that between 1970s and 1990s, the number of Americans with genital herpes infection increased by 30%. It has also been found out that the number of women with herpes infection is higher than the number of men with infection.
The CDC attributes this to the fact that “male-to-female transmission being more likely than female-to-male transmission” (para 3). Other studies have shown that men are at lower risk of getting genital herpes than women because of men’s anatomy. Women are four times more likely to acquire genital herpes than men. According to (Ebel N. d), “studies in Vancouver, BC, have shown that 20% of women who have had sex have genital herpes type 2. If that woman has had six or more partners, that number would increase to 40%. And with more than 10 sexual partners, almost 60% of women would have the virus”, (para 28).
Herpes type HSV -2 viruses can be transmitted from one person to another through sexual intercourse. Many people can be infected since the disease at a times lack visible sore, hence they can transmit to their partners without knowing. Herpes type HSV -1 virus can also cause genital herpes but it is commonly associated with causing mouth and lips infection, known as “fever blisters”. HSV-1 infection of the genitals can be caused by oral or genital-genital contact of an infected person with a non-infected person. The occurrence of genital HSV -1 is less regularly than HSV -1.
Genital Herpes is one of the most common STDs in the world and the infection is still on the rise in the general population. The report of the U. S. centers for Disease control and prevention (CDC) shows that 500,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in America. The report also estimates that less than 20% of the cases are currently identified (Otta, 2003). The Herpes Simplex virus (HSV-1 and HSV-2) has been estimated to affect more than 50% of the world’s population. In some parts of the world, the infection is found to be very high such that it has been found that about 8 out of 10 individuals are affected by the virus(http://www.
herpesalliance. org/International%20Herpes%20Week%202004%20Press%20Release%20. pdf. ). Despite the widespread infections by the virus, many people who have been infected feel ashamed or embarrassed to talk and tackle the problem, especially, the genital herpes. The herpes infection can cause various complications to the infected persons. These are recurrent painful genital sores, and psychological distress to individuals whenever they realize that they have been infected. The infection can also be fatal when transmitted from a pregnant mother to the child.
It is therefore important that pregnant mothers who know that they have been infected to undertake caesarian delivery. Furthermore, herpes infection can contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDs virus. The impact of being diagnosed with herpes tends to be greater on the social and emotional part of a victim than the physical part. Herpes stigma is very great as people will be more judgmental since the disease is not curable implying; the patient has to live with it for life. The first diagnosis puts a person in shock, anger and embarrassment.
The victims lives in fear, feeling helplessness, guilt and shame and tries to change self image. It mostly worries the victim on how it will affect their current and future life and relationship in general. It is important therefore important that the victims are given time to adjust to the situation and accept that the disease will be part of their whole life. Herpes Stigmatization According to the report from http://www. herpes. com/hsv1-2. html (2007), When many people first tell someone they have genital herpes, they start by comparing the infection to oral herpes, or cold sores. How apt is the comparison?
In spite of scientific facts, the social stigma and emotional attitudes surrounding genital herpes can make it hard to compare it objectively with an oral infection that most people accept: following the unspoken assumptions of our society, many people still believe there is a ‘good’ herpes virus-HSV-1…and a bad herpes virus – HSV-2… ”, (para 2). Many individuals with chronic cases of herpes infection do not disclose the information to their partners before having sex with them especially for the first time. This was found out by the research carried out by the ‘International Journal of STDs and AIDs in London.
’ “The investigators found that the stigma associated with herpes was a major barrier to disclosure,” (Bernard, 2007, para 1). One issue so much concerned with herpes infection is the escalating shame or grill. According to Australian Herpes management Forum’s (AHMF), report of 2005, it shows that a survey carried out among the US herpes patients discovered that “over half felt embarrassed about having herpes, a quarter found the whole concept hard to understand and 20 per cent felt the doctor who initially diagnosed them was not very sympathetic,” (page 1).
The perceived social stigma of the herpes condition makes the patient to keep quite with the herpes problem rather than discuss with friends or relatives. In the end, it affects the way the patients manage the virus, the attitude they develop towards sex, and dating. In the end, the patient’s social life in general will be affected.