According to an estimate by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than one in five people between the ages of 15 and 49 worldwide live with a genital herpes infection. That is a total of 846 million people. At least one person is infected every second - that equates to 42 million people per year, according to a WHO study published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections. The estimates relate to the year 2020. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Genital herpes is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases and increases the risk of infection with the AIDS virus HIV. About 90% of those infected have no or inconspicuous symptoms. If symptoms do occur, they can be a painful rash in the genital area and a fever. The herpes viruses remain in the body for life and can lead to repeated outbreaks. According to the Geneva-based WHO, this can be serious for babies if their mother becomes infected late in pregnancy and infects the child during birth.
