News outlets report on the WHO’s first global estimates of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection.

Reuters: You probably have herpes, the WHO says
“Two-thirds of the world’s population under 50 have the highly infectious herpes virus that causes cold sores around the mouth, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, in its first estimate of global prevalence of the disease…” (Miles, 10/28).

U.N. News Centre: Two-thirds of world’s population is infected with herpes, says new U.N. health agency report
“More than 3.7 billion people under the age of 50 are infected with herpes simplex virus type 1, which in most cases causes ‘cold sores’ around the mouth, according to the first global estimates of the infection by the World Health Organization (WHO). The new estimates published [Wednesday] in the journal PLOS ONE also note that the herpes simplex virus type 1 is an important cause of genital herpes…” (10/28).