Herpes Transmission: Lawsuits continue

Cases bought by one partner against former lovers are continuing to come to court both in the UK and the US.  The person who receives herpes from their lover is often claiming damages or in some cases in the UK looking for a prison sentence for knowingly transmitting this incurable STI.

Recently a woman in New York sued her lover of two years for infecting her with genital herpes after alleging he also had sex with sex workers in the same period.  Her lover responded that she is suing him purely for financial benefit.

In the UK, a man convicted of deliberately infecting his lover was given a four year jail sentence.

Herpes is a common infection, it can be controlled during outbreaks and is mostly contagious when you have active blisters.  This means that passing it on can be reduced if you abstain from sex while you are infected.  There is no need to stigmatise people with this infection.

Better2Know can test for Herpes at any of its clinics across the country.  You do not need to have Herpes symptoms (blisters, spots, rash) for the test as we can do it with a blood sample, but we can also take a swab of suspected Herpes outbreaks to see whether Herpes is the cause.  Better2Know tests distinguish between Herpes Type I (very common and usually associated with oral cold sores) and Herpes Type II (less common and associated with genital herpes).