Zee Media Bureau
New York: According to a new study the herpes virus can increase the susceptibility and transmissibility of HIV infection.
People usually gets HSV-2 through sexual contact. The transmission of HIV has been associated with sharing injections where hypodermic syringes are used to administer illicit drugs.
"Heterosexual intercourse is usually not very efficient for transmitting HIV, but the efficiency of heterosexual transmission nearly triples in the presence of herpes simplex virus type 2, (HSV-2)," said lead author Don Des Jarlais, professor of psychiatry and preventive medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in the US.
In the study HSV-2 infection was found in more than half of the non-injecting drug users.
In New York City, where HIV infection among heterosexual non-injecting drug users has now surpassed HIV infection among persons who inject drugs, was shown in a study.
In the journal PLOS ONE the study was published.
