Gothamist: Herpes More Common in NYC Than Rest of Country

sonyactivision

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:05:54 -0500

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?

Anna_Merkin

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:17:30 -0500

Involuntary abstinence is the other why the rate of infection is lower for men than for women. Heh.

babyhitler

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:01:26 -0500

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.

Shinobi Shaw

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:36:34 -0500

#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?

SP

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:07:44 -0500

If everyone had herpes, then there wouldnt be a problem. We could all bang away blissfully without fear.

Pharmer

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:17:40 -0500

"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.

bklynd

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:06:36 -0500

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.

CR

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:06:13 -0500

Wait until my sister moves here - then EVERYONE's gonna have it.

JMH

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:00:37 -0500

There's a herpes virus doll? Seriously? Man, people will buy ANYTHING.

bornbrednewyorker

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:36:58 -0500

Soon all you'll be able to do is get a tug job from your lover with a rubber glove on their hand.

Anna_Merkin

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:27:37 -0500

#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.

Rocknrope

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:12:17 -0500

#12, yep, thanks for that clarification on the stat, which is what I meant to say. Agreed, it's still a disturbing stat.

mattbrogan

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:00:12 -0500

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.

DarkGemini

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:57:20 -0500

[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.

lanciano

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:55:47 -0500

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.

Anna_Merkin

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:52:52 -0500

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)?

plk779

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:42:31 -0500

STD's are the ultimate in natural selection, unless you're raped. SO VERY, VERY PREVENTABLE.

mrguy

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:40:56 -0500

condoms help, but don't completely prevent the transmission of the virus either. read more here.

Rocknrope

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:32:22 -0500

Whoa, so 50% of black people have it? That's a crazy stat.

grooverider

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:26:32 -0500

I wonder if simplex-2 can be correlated to poor spelling and grammar

Anna_Merkin

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:24:29 -0500

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.

holla

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:19:27 -0500

maybe they're using the same condoms George used on Seinfeld in that one episode.

zstone

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:12:17 -0500

@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.

AnonEMouse

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:05:23 -0500

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...

lanciano

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:04:30 -0500

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!