(Press-News.org) Around 1 in 5 of the world’s under 50s—846 million people—are living with genital herpes infection, suggest the latest global estimates, published online in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.
And more than 200 million 15-49 year olds probably had at least one symptomatic outbreak of the infection in 2020, the latest year for which figures are available, the data analysis suggests.
The findings prompt the researchers to call for the development of new treatments and vaccines to control the spread of the infection and lessen its health and financial toll, given that currently available options have only had a modest impact at the population level, they say.
There are 2 types of herpes simplex virus—type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2)--both of which are highly infectious, incurable, and last a lifetime.
HSV-1 is primarily spread in childhood by mouth contact, resulting in ‘cold sores’ in or around the mouth. But it can sometimes cause more serious neurological, eye, skin and mucous membrane complications. And it is increasingly being spread through sexual contact at older ages, say the researchers.
HSV-2 is almost entirely sexually transmitted through skin to skin contact, and is the leading cause of recurrent painful genital blisters. And although rare, both HSV-1 and HSV-2 can be passed onto newborns, often proving fatal.
In a bid to update previous estimates of the global incidence and prevalence of genital HSV infection, the researchers incorporated a series of recent comprehensive systematic reviews and pooled data analyses published up to March 2022
And they deployed mathematical modelling to estimate the global and regional incidence and prevalence of genital HSV infection and related symptoms in 2020.
Based on the available data, the researchers estimated that globally 26 million 15–49 year olds were newly infected with HSV-2 infection, and an estimated 520 million had existing infection—just over 13% of those in this age group.
An estimated 17 million 15–49 year olds acquired HSV-1 infection genitally, and an estimated 376 million (10% of those in this age group) had existing infection in 2020.
In all, two-thirds of the global population up to the age of 49—-nearly 4 billion people—-were infected (mostly orally) with HSV-1 in 2020, the researchers estimated.
The researchers estimated that the total global numbers of new and existing HSV infections among 15–49 year olds in 2020 were 42 million and 846 million, respectively.
And the estimated number of 15–49 year olds who had at least one episode of genital sores in 2020 was 188 million for those infected with HSV-2, and 17 million for those infected with genital HSV-1, adding up to a total of 205 million.
The researchers acknowledge various limitations to their findings, including the scarcity of data for people at either end of the age spectrum and relatively wide ranges for some of their estimates.
But they nevertheless conclude: “HSV infections are widely prevalent in all global regions, leading to a significant burden of [genital ulcer disease] with repercussions on psychosocial, sexual, and reproductive health, neonatal transmission, and HIV transmission. However, hardly any specific programmes for HSV prevention and control exist, even in resource-rich countries.”
They add: “There is a need for HSV prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines as a strategic approach to control transmission and to curb the disease and economic burdens of these infections.”
END
Around 1 in 5 of the world’s under 50s living with genital herpes (HSV)
And 200 million +15-49 year olds probably had at least one symptomatic outbreak in 2020. Urgent need for vaccines to curb HSV spread and its health/financial toll, say researchers
2024-12-11
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Cutting early life exposure to parental smoking may lower MS risk in genetically prone
2024-12-11
Cutting early life exposure to parental smoking may lower the risk of developing MS (multiple sclerosis) in those who are genetically predisposed to the disease, finds research published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.
The interplay of genes and environmental factors, including smoking, alter key aspects of brain structure in early childhood, likely facilitating development of the disease and suggesting that there may be a window of opportunity to stave this off, conclude the researchers.
MS is an autoimmune disease that is typically diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40. But ...
High-flow nasal oxygen vs noninvasive ventilation in patients with acute respiratory failure
2024-12-11
About The Study: Compared with noninvasive ventilation, high-flow nasal oxygen met prespecified criteria for noninferiority for the primary outcome of endotracheal intubation or death within 7 days in 4 of the 5 patient groups with acute respiratory failure. However, the small sample sizes in some patient groups and the sensitivity of the findings to the choice of analysis model suggests the need for further study in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunocompromised patients, and patients with acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema.
Corresponding Author: To ...
Flexible hibernation could help hedgehogs adapt to environmental changes
2024-12-11
New research has found hedgehogs living in the same, semi-rural area have wide variation in hibernation timing and pattern, with some entering hibernation as much as three months later than others. The researchers say this flexibility could help them adapt to climate change and urbanisation.
In a new study, researchers at Liverpool John Moores University monitored the hibernation patterns of wild hedgehogs living on a disused golf course on the Wirral. The research, which is yet to be published, will be presented at the British Ecological Society’s (BES) Annual meeting in Liverpool ...
What is a unit of nature? New framework shows the challenges involved with establishing a biodiversity credit market
2024-12-11
UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01 GMT WEDNESDAY 11 DECEMBER / 19:01 ET TUESDAY 10 DECEMBER 2024
Leading ecologists have devised a new framework to classify how biodiversity credit operators define what a unit of nature is. The new analysis demonstrates the challenges involved with devising a biodiversity credit market to fund nature recovery, and the risks of relying too heavily on ‘offsetting.’
Nature conservation faces an estimated $700 billion annual funding gap, in order to halt and begin to reverse ...
NYCEDC and NYU Tandon launch applications for new digital game design incubator
2024-12-10
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), in conjunction with NYU Tandon School of Engineering, has officially opened and launched applications for New York City’s new digital game design incubator—the Game Design Future Lab (GDFL)—within NYU Tandon Future Labs, a startup incubator network operator founded 15 years ago with initial funding from NYCEDC. The Game Design Future Lab taps into New York City’s growing digital game development industry and aims to enable developer growth and success through personalized and strategic mentorship, industry-specific and fundamental ...
Soda taxes don’t just affect sales. They help change people’s minds.
2024-12-10
It wasn’t that long ago when cigarettes and soda were go-to convenience store vices, glamorized in movies and marketed toward, well, everyone.
Then, lawmakers and voters raised taxes on cigarettes, and millions of dollars went into public education campaigns about smoking’s harms. Decades of news coverage chronicled how addictive and dangerous cigarettes were and the enormous steps companies took to hide the risks and hook more users. The result: a radical shift in social norms that made it less acceptable to smoke and ...
Early restrictive vs liberal oxygen for trauma patients
2024-12-10
About The Study: In adult trauma patients, an early restrictive oxygen strategy compared with a liberal oxygen strategy initiated in the prehospital setting or on trauma center admission for 8 hours did not significantly reduce death and/or major respiratory complications within 30 days.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Jacob Steinmetz, MD, PhD, email jacob.steinmetz@regionh.dk.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jama.2024.25786)
Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, ...
Enabling AI to explain its predictions in plain language
2024-12-10
CAMBRIDGE, MA – Machine-learning models can make mistakes and be difficult to use, so scientists have developed explanation methods to help users understand when and how they should trust a model’s predictions.
These explanations are often complex, however, perhaps containing information about hundreds of model features. And they are sometimes presented as multifaceted visualizations that can be difficult for users who lack machine-learning expertise to fully comprehend.
To help people make sense of AI explanations, MIT researchers used large language models (LLMs) to transform plot-based explanations into plain language.
They developed ...
A greener, cleaner way to extract cobalt from ‘junk’ materials
2024-12-10
Siddarth Kara’s bestseller, “Cobalt Red: How the Blood of Congo Powers Our Lives,” focuses on problems surrounding the sourcing of cobalt, a critical component of lithium-ion batteries that power many technologies central to modern life, from mobile phones and pacemakers to electric vehicles.
“Perhaps many of us have read how lithium-ion batteries are vital for energy storage technologies,” says Eric Schelter, the Hirschmann-Makineni Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. “But how material that make up such batteries are sourced can be concerning and problematic, both ethically and environmentally.”
Schelter ...
Better environmental performance boosts profits and cuts costs
2024-12-10
Fukuoka, Japan—Sustainable practices in business are more than just an ethical responsibility; they make sound financial sense. Researchers from Kyushu University, in a study published on December 10, 2024, in Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, reveal that companies with better environmental performance and transparent disclosures can lower costs and boost profits.
Investors are increasingly recognizing companies' contributions toward carbon neutrality, driving the growth of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. To support this trend, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) has provided an industry-specific framework ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
A 'Rosetta Stone' for molecular systems
What goes up must come down – scientists unearth “universal thermal performance curve” that shackles evolution
Physical activity increases total daily energy use, study shows
National study finds public Montessori programs strengthens early learning outcomes -- at sharply lower costs compared to traditional preschool
National poll: 1 in 10 young children play outdoors as little as once a week
How do people learn new facts?
Exploring how storytelling strategies shape memories
How people process mental images versus real-life visuals
Blood test could help predict blood pressure after weight loss surgery in teens
Ultra-endurance athletes test the metabolic limits of the human body
Revealing the 'carbon hoofprint' of meat consumption for American cities
Like radar, a brain wave sweeps a cortical region to read out information held in working memory
Resistance to epilepsy treatments may wane over time
Precision reprogramming: How AI tricks cancer’s toughest cells
US physician Medicare program participation and exit, 2013-2023
A direct-to-patient digital health program for lung cancer screening
Belgian scientists discover how cells protect our skin from inflammatory disease – paving the way for new treatments
Effectiveness of colchicine for the treatment of long COVID
Distance to care and telehealth abortion demand after Dobbs
Epidural electrical stimulation for functional recovery in incomplete spinal cord injury
Transformative eye research expands donor pool for corneal transplant patients
Retinal implant restores central vision in patients with advanced AMD, study co-led by Pitt investigator shows
Eye prosthesis is the first to restore sight lost to macular degeneration
Pioneering eye device restores reading vision to blind eyes
Subretinal implant partially restores vision in AMD patients
3D printed antenna arrays developed for flexible wireless systems
When is the brain like a subway station? When it’s processing many words at once
Important phenomenon discovered in the Arctic – could boost marine life
New white paper urges policymakers to modernize practice laws to unlock AI’s full potential in healthcare
Unmasking the culprits of battery failure with a graphene mesosponge
[Press-News.org] Around 1 in 5 of the world’s under 50s living with genital herpes (HSV)And 200 million +15-49 year olds probably had at least one symptomatic outbreak in 2020. Urgent need for vaccines to curb HSV spread and its health/financial toll, say researchers