Good news for a lot of you

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Newsflash: You probably have herpes. This is actually okay. According to the World Health Organization, over two thirds of the global population have HSV-1 (commonly known as oral herpes or cold sores) and more than 10 percent have HSV-2, or genital herpes. Given that HSV-2 rates are much higher among women, urbanites, and minority groups than in the general population (and given that HSV-1 increasingly shows up as a genital infection instead of an oral one), herpes is easily the most common sexually transmitted infection.

How did over 4 billion folks end up with one of the two strains of herpes simplex, and what can we do about it? It all comes down to the virus's ingenious method of infection—it's designed to evade your immune system so well that it can stay in your body for an entire lifetime. But scientists now believe they can stop herpes from using its slickest skills. In a study published Thursday in PLOS Pathogens, researchers describe a new vaccine designed to hit herpes right where it hurts.

According to the study authors and other experts, this could be the closest we've ever come to eliminating the virus in the human population. With any luck, human trials could start in just a year or two.

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