The CDC released their findings earlier this year of the top 15 cities with the worst herpes rates in the nation. The five cities with the most herpes cases also have as high as a 40 percent infection rate for sexually active people. Not surprisingly, the District of Columbia, which has higher rates of HIV/AIDS infections than many sub-Saharan African nations, ranks very high on the list.
Herpes can be transmitted when neither partner has sores. Condoms are effective only half the time because herpes is unlike HIV. It can be transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, not just in semen or vaginal fluid.
