soperj2 years ago
Chickenpox is actually caused by a herpesvirus. herpes varicella zoster.
herpes isn't that bad. most people will get it in their lifetime. 1 in 6 people have hsv-2, the less common variant. trying to avoid herpes is like trying to avoid chickenpox (although herpes isn't nearly as harmful as chickenpox).
you should avoid Oracle like it's a blood pathogen.
Citation needed.
If you are an adult of typical sexual activity, it is likely you have already had sex with someone infected with herpes.
That doesn’t mean you have contracted it — carriers aren’t always shedding the virus.
I’m not sure I see any correlation between a country being conservative and an absence of sexually transmitted infection; the 10 countries where HIV is most prevalent are all (as far as I’m aware) relatively conservative.
Furthermore, here are some statistics from Wikipedia on HSV which may be referring to some of these conservative countries you’re referring to:
> Turkey— High levels of HSV-1 (97%) and HSV-2 (42%) were found amongst pregnant women in the city of Erzurum in Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey. In Istanbul however, lower HSV-2 seroprevalence was observed; HSV-2 antibodies were found in 4.8% of sexually active adults, while HSV-1 antibodies were found in 85.3%. Only 5% of pregnant women were infected with HSV-2, and 98% were infected with HSV-1. Prevalence of these viruses was higher in sex workers of Istanbul, reaching levels of 99% and 60% for HSV-1 and HSV-2 prevalence respectively.
> Jordan— The prevalence of HSV-2 in Jordan is 52.8% for men and 41.5% for women.
> Israel— HSV-1 seroprevalence is 59.8% in the population of Israel and increases with age in both genders but the adolescent seroprevalence has been declining as in most industrialized nations. An estimated 9.2% of Israeli adults are infected with HSV-2. Infection of either HSV-1 or HSV-2 is higher in females; HSV-2 seroprevalence reaches 20.5% in females in their 40s. These values are similar to levels in HSV infection in Europe.
> Antibodies for HSV-1 or HSV-2 are also more likely to be found individuals born outside of Israel, and individuals residing in Jerusalem and Southern Israel; people of Jewish origin living in Israel are less likely to possess antibodies against herpes. Among pregnant women in Israel a small scale cross sectional study found the prevalence of HSV-2 infection was 13.3% and that of HSV-1 was 94.9%. The HSV-2 infection rate was 3-fold higher among immigrants from the former Soviet Union (27.5%) than among Israeli-born Jewish and Arab women (9%). Approximately 78% of HSV-2 infections in Israel are asymptomatic. HSV-1 causes 66.3% of genital herpes in the Tel Aviv area.
> Syria— Genital herpes infection from HSV-2 is predicted to be low in Syria although HSV-1 levels are high. HSV-1 infections is common (95%) among healthy Syrians over the age of 30, while HSV-2 prevalence is low in healthy individuals (0.15%), and persons infected with other sexually transmitted diseases (9.5%). High risk groups for acquiring HSV-2 in Syria, include prostitutes and bar girls; they have 34% and 20% seroprevalence respectively.
Again, not in conservative populations where marriage is the typical way to have sexual relations. Syria is one example that you quoted. A smart person would get his/her partner tested if they suspect anything before getting married.
In any case, assuming that infidelity or anything else sinful/haram doesn't occur in "conservative" populations strikes me as frightfully naïve.
The data is in. Arabs get herpes too.
Edit: it seems that HSV-1 is not an STD, but it causes genital herpes if engaging in oral sex? Which can explain the big gap between the two in conservative cultures.
Another related site: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml (scroll down for articles).
None of the above will help though in deciding between Postgres or MySQL ;)
The worst part about having it is having to talk about having it. It's really not bad as a condition separate from societal concern.