Is it true that 20% of adults have genital herpes.?

If so, i'm scared to have sex with anyone I didn't trust 100% not to harm me.

One in four adults have herpes.


There are approximately one million new cases of herpes each year.


More women than men have herpes.


Approximately thirty million Americans have the herpes virus.


There are about 500,000 new cases each year in America.


Approximately 80% of persons having a first episode caused by HSV-2 will have at least one recurrence, while only 50% of persons with HSV-1 will experience a recurrence.


Clinical trials have proved Valaciclovir (an antiviral therapy) to prevent or delay up to 85% of herpes outbreaks.


About 50 percent to 80 percent of the adult population in the United States has oral herpes.


Twenty percent to 25 percent of pregnant women have genital herpes.


It has been estimated that about 20% of the population have genital herpes and 90% have oral herpes (cold sores).


In women, the cervix is infected in about 80% to 90% of initial infections, and vaginal discharge may occur.


Some people may experience several outbreaks during a year, while others have only 1 or 2 outbreaks during their lifetime.


The average number of outbreaks is 4 to 5 a year.


During the active stage, 20% to 25% of people begin to have the active herpes virus present on the skin.


Genital herpes is more common in women (approximately 1 out of 4 women) than in men (almost 1 out of 5).


Genital herpes is the most prevalent viral sexually transmitted disease.


There are more cases of genital herpes than there are all the other viral STDs combined.


The more sex partners you have, the higher the risk of you getting, or having already caught, genital herpes.


Studies have shown that the vast majority (80-90%) of people who have genital herpes have not been diagnosed with the condition.


Every 30 seconds, another person gets genital herpes. The number of cases of genital herpes has gone up by over 30% in the last decade.


If the number of people infected with genital herpes continues to grow at the present rate, it is predicted that in time nearly half the US adult population will have genital herpes.


It is estimated that 99% of all HSV-2 infections are genital.

yes thats about right. 1 in 4 adults have genital herpes but almost 80% of the population has oral herpes also known as cold sores. but some cases may go un reported, un diagnossed, or some people don't even know that they have herpes so the numbers could be higher.
i'm one of the unfortunate people to have both types of herpes.
don't be scared about having sex. just get to know your partner before u decide to have sex. ad use condoms if u decide to just have sex with them. also stay monogomous with your partner. get tested for herpes and stds relarally when u decide to start having sex.
your partner should tell u if they know that they have either type of herpes or any other std. also read up on how to protect yourself against herpes and stds.
BTW when a person with herpes does not have an out break they have less then a 10% chance of passing herpes on. even further reduced if they are taking suppressive medication.

1/4 people have herpes today. So i think its more than 20%. I think its higher. Its very common now. You are going to have to keep using a condom untl you meet someone you can really trust and get checked together. Just remember taht you can still get herpes with a condom depending where the lesions are located on the partners part of her genitals. Its skin to skin contact so you can still get it on parts of the penis that isnt covered by a condom.

The first person that answered your question...did it very well, so there is not much else to say....except that statistics are based on reported cases. So with that in mind...logically there is really more than 20%. Also many people who have it don't know they have it...so if you add that to the people that have it, but don't report it...the percent would be a lot higher. Also...since they now know that you can get oral in the genitals via oral sex....it is practical to think that just about everyone has a good chance of aquiring the virus.

1 in 5 actually

If you include ORAL herpes - it's 1 in 3!