The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released a report that states two thirds of Earth’s population has herpes. The report states that 3.7 billion people worldwide, under the age of 50, have the disease. Apparently, most people have the disease and the virus is easily spread through contact if medication is not being taken.

For Americans, 39 percent of men and 49 percent of women have the virus that erupts in cold sores around the mouth, according to The New York Daily News. Kissing, perhaps, is the leading cause of the spread of the disease although the WHO notes that oral sex is quickly catching up as a leading cause. Blisters and sores don’t have to be seen to be contagious.

There are two types of the herpes virus. There is the Herpes Simplex 1 which causes the cold sores along the mouth and then there is Herpes Simplex 2 which will cause genital sores and ulcers that return. There is medication but the disease is, basically, incurable. The WHO reports that an additional 417 million people in the world have the Herpes Simplex 2 which brings the total of those infected with herpes to well over four billion people.

The major problem with the virus is that most people are unaware that they even carry the virus. They rarely get tested for it and, thus, take no medication and continue to spread it through kissing, oral sex, and unprotected intercourse. The problem, the WHO states, is that the lesser Herpes Simplex 1 is quickly turning into the greater Herpes Simplex 2 through the prevalence of oral sex, especially in more affluent nations.

Only about 10 to 25 percent of those who attract the virus will have outbreaks. Doctors say that a person’s immune system tends to keep the virus at arms length. The problem with Herpes Simplex 2 is that it can rapidly attract and morph into full blown HIV which can lead to AIDS.