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Time to break out the subway condoms! The Health Department reported yesterday that "more than a fourth of adult New Yorkers are infected with Herpes Simplex Virus-2, the virus that causes genital herpes." For contrast, the national average for genital herpes infection is 19%.
The virus has no cure, lasts forever, and those infected are more susceptible to the HIV virus. The Health Department also finds "among New Yorkers, the rate is higher among women than men (36% versus 19%), higher among blacks than whites (49% versus 14%), and higher among men who have sex with men than those who don’t (32% versus 18%)."
Dr. Julia Schillinger, lead author of the study, noted that "Genital herpes alone will not cause serious problems for most people. But some people will have painful genital sores." And since many don't show symptoms, it's advised that you check out the information provided by the Department of Health, before becoming a statistic.
On top of the Herpes scare, the Health Department says they received more than 65,000 reports of sexually transmitted infections in 2007 (including gonorrhea, chlamydia, and infectious syphilis) -- which is above the national average. Surely the Gowanus Canal harboring gonorrhea has not helped these figures go down. So before you "get some, NYC" -- get some condoms first.
Related: The Herpes Simplex Virus-2 plush doll (pictured) is on backorder.
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interesting that NYC has so many more cases than the national average. i wonder if that has anything to do with people relying on those bootleg NYC condoms.
do people actually use those things for actual sex?
come on cheap new yorkers! spring 12 bucks for some sealed in the box condoms!
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...
@lanciano - you really shouldn't spread rumors like that. The NYC condom is just as effective as any other brand name condom (they are LifeStyles) when used correctly, and are surely made and packaged in the same Malaysian factory as millions of others.
maybe they're using the same condoms George used on Seinfeld in that one episode.
According to a friend who works for the CDC, one of the big issues with the spread of various STI/STD's is the lack of testing. Many people simply don't get tested and for the two major diseases that can be passed without visible signs (Herpes and HIV), many don't know that they are infected. These numbers don't surprise me. I've had to practically beg different doctors to give me the full battery of tests each year when I get a physical. For whatever reason, they don't test you for some things unless you are showing symptoms, leading a risky lifestyle, or insist heavily that they do. Even at that, I'd guess that there are quite a number of sexually active NY'ers who simply don't see a doctor unless something's horribly wrong. So, the numbers are actually lower than they might otherwise be.
Separately, I seem to recall a few stories in the past year noting that STI/STD's were on the rise among younger (teens) people too. That is perhaps, an even more troubling trend.
I wonder if simplex-2 can be correlated to poor spelling and grammar
Whoa, so 50% of black people have it? That's a crazy stat.
condoms help, but don't completely prevent the transmission of the virus either.
read more here.
STD's are the ultimate in natural selection, unless you're raped. SO VERY, VERY PREVENTABLE.
Yeah, that number is crazy. I'd love to see the other demographic information associated with the underlying dataset. Simply saying that 49% of blacks have it, or that 36% of women have it based on a 2004 survey in which "1,784 (respondents) were tested for HSV-2" doesn't really tell me much.
I'm aware that it is modeled on the NHANES survey which has its own limitations. For example, without demographic data or even behavioral data, one cannot easily point to the potential causes (and possible remedies) to this level of infection. Yes, it's easy to say, "have less sex" or "get tested" but are there other factors at play, such as a disproportionate number of black males on "the DL" who are spreading infections (which the CDC found as a cause for the increased spread of HIV among black women a few year ago)?
i didn't mean to disparage the manufacturing process of the NYC condoms.
my main problem with those nyc condoms is what happens after they leave the factory. I have often them sitting in a basket on a bar or near the doorway or some other uncontrolled area. they can be overly manhandled, or experience extreme temperatures, or be compromised in any number of ways.
why would anyone trust their life with something like this? i would not.
[7]Actually...
I'm going to go ahead and say that of the 26% of NYC that has HSV-2, 49% are black.
Not 49% of all black people.
All the same, that is a very disturbing statistic.
a couple good points from a friend at a free clinic:
1 - condoms do not protect against herpes. they can reduce the risk but only if the infected area can be covered (i.e. not much when herpes can infect a large area).
2 - nyc free clinics do NOT test for herpes, nor do they adequately tell you that.
#12, yep, thanks for that clarification on the stat, which is what I meant to say. Agreed, it's still a disturbing stat.
#12 and #14, that's an interesting read of the release. The release doesn't lend itself to that interpretation from my reading. I agree that it makes sense, but the wording of the article and press release is a bit unclear.
A very troubling figure, nonetheless.
Soon all you'll be able to do is get a tug job from your lover with a rubber glove on their hand.
There's a herpes virus doll? Seriously?
Man, people will buy ANYTHING.
Wait until my sister moves here - then EVERYONE's gonna have it.
Well, you can wrap it up in a box, and then when when your partner opens it you can say "it's herpes! We've got herpes!" She'll never forget that moment.
"There's a herpes virus doll? Seriously?
Man, people will buy ANYTHING."
Not as bad as the jar of dirt I saw on sale after the release of Pirates 2.
If everyone had herpes, then there wouldnt be a problem. We could all bang away blissfully without fear.
#21
Of course, we just have to completely disregard of that other pesky annoyance known as HIV or (and here is an oldie but a goodie) HPV?
You guys want to be scared? Try this out. 97% of everyone in the continental North America has Herpes simplex A. or the cold sore virus. You can get it by just breathing in the air. Stat 2 has 49% of all black people having the HS 2 virus. Genital herpes. Stat 3 is that 25% of all teenage females have the genital Herpes virus. Women are much more susceptible cause pussies love to keep nasty shit inside, that's why they always get yeast infections. Stat 4 is that 80% of all hot chicks have the Herpes virus. Yes, Hot chicks = readliy available sex. abstainance or monogamy is best.
Involuntary abstinence is the other why the rate of infection is lower for men than for women. Heh.
And here I was, worried about MRSA bacterium. Now I gotta freak out about a stupid "STD" that causes genital bumps? Are you fucking kidding?