Genital Herpes' Reactivation Better Understood

Genital herpes frequently reactivates throughout the genital tract, a finding that may help improve treatment and prevention, U.S. researchers say.

Over 30 days, the investigators collected daily samples from seven separate genital sites in four women infected with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). HSV-2 was detected on more than one area on 56 percent of days when there was viral shedding and on genital surfaces on both sides of the women's bodies on most days when HSV-2 was detected at more than one site, according to the researchers at the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.