The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a report that’s putting black men — and those down with the swirl — on edge. According to the reputable organization, nearly half of all black women are afflicted with genital herpes. Nearly half.
An eye-popping 48 percent of black women between the ages of 14 and 49 have the virus that causes genital herpes, says the federal agency. Blacks in general are more than three times as likely as whites to have herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) (39.2 percent vs. 12.3 percent). But adding to that, it’s believed that biological factors make women more susceptible to genital herpes than men, says the CDC. That’s what puts black women in the hot seat.
The socioeconomic factors that come into play when dealing with the health of blacks all but guarantee us being on the bottom rung of most statistical analysis of this kind, so genital herpes is no exception. Then the way the cards fall, black women lead the pack.
What’s worse, most sisters don’t even know they’re walking around with the disease. Health officials say up to 80 percent of genital herpes infections in the United States are undiagnosed. “Many individuals are transmitting herpes to others without even knowing it,” said John M. Douglas Jr., director of CDC’s division of STD prevention. “It is important that persons with symptoms suggestive of herpes — especially recurrent sores in the genital area — seek clinical care to determine if these symptoms may be due to herpes and might benefit from treatment.”
The biggest indicator that you’ve been infected is the presence of sores, which then recur periodically, but that’s not the only sign. Redness and itching are other symptoms, and the disease can still be transmitted without visible sores. And once the disease is contracted, there is no cure.
So, to counter the gripes of black women that there’s a shortage of black men because most of them are either in prison, gay, or with a white girl, it can be said that half the sisters are unwittingly walking around with herpes. Startling.
Lesson: wrap it up, practice abstinence, or play Russian roulette with your health. -gerald radford
