Single, Black, Infected? Black Women and Genital Herpes

Black women don't always have the best reputations. I mean, we're single, bitchy, and supposedly way too professional to ever please a man. Not to mention, the Centers for Disease Control decided to ruin our mojo with the recently released information that 48 percent of black women between the ages of 14 and 49 have the virus that causes genital herpes.

Health Buzz: 1 in 6 Americans Has Genital Herpes

1 in 6 Americans Has Genital Herpes

The sexually transmitted strain of herpes simplex virus infects 1 out of every 6 Americans, HealthDay reports. Luckily, the rate of infection is not increasing, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the agency did find that certain groups are more at risk. The infection rate in women, for example, was almost double the rate in men, while three times as many blacks as whites were infected, the report showed. Among those who reported having a history of 10 or more sex partners, 27 percent had herpes, compared with 4 percent of those with one lifetime sex partner, HealthDay reports.

CDC Says Genital Herpes in Americans is High

According to a report released Tuesday from the CDC, approximately 16 percent of Americans are currently infected with genital herpes, a statistic that reveals theSexually Transmitted Disease as one of the most common sex-related ailments in the US.

Patient trials of genital herpes vaccine begin in London

A new vaccine designed to prevent people with genital herpes from passing the virus on to their sexual partners has begun its first patient trials at a hospital in England.

Two healthy volunteers have been given the jab at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, in the first phase of a study that could eventually provide the first effective immunization against the incurable sexually transmitted infection.

The safety trial, which will eventually involve 42 people, comes after encouraging results in animal models, the Times Online reported March 4.