Health Buzz: 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.