The oral and genital herpes viruses are having 'Sex.' The result is worrisome.

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▼ There's a lot more "sex" going on between the oral and genital herpes virusesthan scientists previously thought, according to a new study.
The study, published April 23 in The Journal  of Infectious Diseases, found that the two herpes simplex viruses — known as HSV-1 and HSV-2 — mix their genetic material together, or "recombine," more often than thought. (HSV-1 classically causes oral  infectionsand HSV-2 causes genital infections.)
The researchers "found, basically, that there was considerably more recombination than had previously been appreciated," between the two viruses, said study co-author Dr. Alex Greninger, an assistant professor of laboratory medicine at the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine.
What's more, although scientists knew that the two viruses had mixed in the distant past, the new study shows that this mixing continues to this day. "Herpes viruses are still having sex," Greninger told Live Science.
But the mixing appears to be a "one-way" exchange, with HSV-2 acquiring genes from HSV-1, and not the other way around, the authors said.
As a result, the genital herpes virus(HSV-2) continues to evolve, which could have negative implications for public health, the researchers said. For example, HSV-2 might evolve in a way that makes it resistant to current antiviral drugs.The ability of HSV-2 to mix with HSV-1 could also be a barrier to the development of a vaccine against herpes, which doesn't yet exist, Greninger added.
Herpes history (▪ ▪ ▪)

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