New science shows that teenagers today are less likely to have been exposed to cold sores growing up and therefore may be more vulnerable to genital herpes when they become sexually active. Let's start by thinking back to the awkwardness of middle school sexual education for a second. As you may recall, from illustrated diagrams on overhead transparencies, there are two types of herpes simplex virus: HSV-1 (which usually comes in the form of cold sores on the mouth) and HSV-2 (the genital variety). These are common viruses. Antibodies for type 1 are found in about half the U.S. population, and for type 2 in about a sixth. And unfortunately, once the herpes virus is in your system, it's in there forever.
In this study, researchers with the Centers Disease Control and Prevention looked at the prevalence of antibodies for the herpes virus in Americans between the ages of 14 ...
