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Genital Herpes Simplex Risk factors and Rate of TransmissionRisk factors Risk factors for genital herpes HSV-2 are strongly related to lifetime number of sexual partners, number of years of sexual activity, male homosexuality, black race, female gender and a history of previous sexually transmitted diseases. The seroprevalence is higher among women (25.6 percent) than men (17.8 percent) and higher among blacks (45.9 percent) than whites (17.6 percent). Less than 10 percent of all those who were seropositive reported a history of genital herpes infection. Rate of transmission Transmission of HSV occurs from both symptomatic lesions and asymptomatic viral shedding. Symptomatic lesions are more efficient transmitters of the virus because they have higher viral titers. Herpes simplex is transmitted more efficiently from males to females than from females to males. This may be due to the increased rate of recurrence, and hence infectivity, in men. Seronegative female susceptible partners have the highest risk for acquiring genital herpes infection. |