Herpes for richer for poorer

"Genital herpes is an infection that rich Australian men share with poor and uneducated women, a national study of the socioeconomic distribution of HSV-2 suggests.

Using serum samples from more than 4000 people picked at random for the AusDiab study, researchers at the School of Public Health at the University of Queensland looked at how seropositivity for herpes simplex type 2 correlated with socioeconomic status, place of residence and levels of education.

Their findings, published in Sexually Transmitted Diseases (online March 26) show that rates of HSV-2 were generally higher in wealthy areas compared to poor areas of Australia."