New Report Says Nearly 1/2 Of All Black Women Have Genital Herpes

POLITICS

» by Danielle Canada March 10, 2010, 10:10am

The Center For Disease Control has released alarming new test results that claim 48% of Black women between ages 14 and 49 have herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), a lifelong and incurable infection that can cause recurrent and painful genital sores.

The medical group released a press release Tuesday detailing their findings.

According to the CDC herpes is still one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the United States.

The study shows that women and Blacks are the most commonly infected with women at 20.5% and Blacks at 39.2%, nearly three times the rate of whites at 12.3%. Black women top everyone else's rates altogether at 48%.

Kevin Fenton, M.D., director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, released a statement saying that the high rate of genital herpes is likely linked to the disproportionate HIV problem in the Black community.

"We are particularly concerned about persistent high rates of herpes among African-Americans, which is likely contributing to disproportionate rates of HIV in the black community."


The CDC also estimates that over 80 percent of those with HSV-2 are unaware of their infection.  Symptoms may be absent, mild, or mistaken for another condition. People with HSV-2 often transmit it without knowing it, they may have no visible sores or signs.

48%?

This is a real problem people.

Be safe out there and please get tested.

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  • GTO MESSIAH

    The report does not say that 48% of black women have Herpes.
    It's says OUT OF ALL WOMEN (meaning All Races) that already have herpes, 48% are black.

    I REPEAT!

    It doesn't say Out of all BLACK WOMEN in AMERICA, 48% have HERPES. It says out of ALL WOMEN already WITH HERPES, 48% are Black

    GET IT?

  • M. Reed

    If you stand by your story then give a link to the report showing what you claim. The information I found
    @ (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5807a6.htm?s_cid=mm5807a6_e) shows a decrease in the number of cases reported and the corresponding graph shows the actual number somewhere between 32% and 35% infection rate for Black women with a 95% confidence interval. Confidence interval means that if this result were tested 100 times, 95 out of 100times the result would be the same.